Locals ride Red Metropolitana Linea 558 to SCL, not tourists
Linea 558 is a standard Red Metropolitana city bus with the usual $1–2 fare, not an airport-branded service, and most riders are airport workers heading to shifts at T1 and T2 rather than visitors with rollaboards. It runs on public streets near the airport zone and connects into the broader Red grid instead of pulling into the signed airport coach bays like Centropuerto or TurBus.
Because 558 is a regular urban line, it follows a long, multi-stop route with constant halts, so even if the map looks straight, door-to-door time usually runs slower than a dedicated coach plus Metro Line 1 from Pajaritos. One Reddit user who compared options mentioned "regular Red buses like 555 and 558" and said they’re "not worth the headache" versus the airport coaches if you’ve got a 23 kg suitcase in hand.
The fare is the standard integrated Red Metropolitana price, roughly $1–2 depending on time band, and you pay with a Bip! card you’ve already loaded at a Metro station or kiosk downtown. A commenter who tried a regular bus plus metro near SCL said it "worked" only because they already had a funded Bip! card and spoke Spanish well enough to follow the driver’s directions.
Stops for Linea 558 sit on roads outside the terminal area rather than at the main arrivals curb, so expect either a walk of several hundred meters or a short internal shuttle from T1 or T2 just to reach the first usable stop. Because the line is not marketed as an airport route, on-board audio and LED signs show intermediate neighborhoods and crossroads instead of anything saying "Aeropuerto Arturo Merino Benítez".
Regulars use 558 the way they’d use any commuter line: staff who work around SCL ride it daily to connect with Metro Line 1 at hubs such as Pajaritos, then transfer onward to central stations like Los Héroes or Universidad de Chile to avoid airport-bus prices. Locals who insist on regular buses often pre-plan in a transit app like Red’s official planner, then screenshot the exact stop name where they need to get off.
Watch out for boarding 558 in the wrong direction near the airport, because some Red routes run long, meandering loops that can eat 30–40 minutes before you can bail out and reverse. Another complaint: showing up with a big 25-inch suitcase during an 8:00–9:00 rush can draw side-eye from commuters packed into the front door.
One practical tip: if you still want Linea 558, map your route point-to-point in advance, write down the stop name in Spanish, and keep a backup plan using Centropuerto or TurBus from Pajaritos in case the timing or crowding looks bad when you get to the stop.