Explore Mexico City Safely and Cheaply via Metro
Written: Sep 12 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Clean, cheap, reliable, safe transportation
Cons: Rush hour crowds like nowhere else!
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| mrkstvns's Full Review: Mexico City |
Mexico City can be intimidating to the first time visitor, but get a good subway map and a booklet of subway tickets, and the whole city opens up to you -- safely and cheaply!
Fortunately for travelers, Mexico City has one of the best subway systems in the world. It's modern, easy-to-use, extensive, new, clean, safe, and remarkably cheap -- always a factor dear to my heart.
The downside for travelers is that everyone in Mexico City uses the subway -- it can get incredibly crowded. Avoid rush hours if at all possible: generally 8 to 10 am and 6 to 8 pm. If you are a woman travelling during peak hours, look for the line for women and kids -- other cars will be packed with men, many of whom are not above doing a little groping.
At other times of the day, or on weekends, the Metro is very comfortable and is the fastest, best way to get around the city.
Riding the Underground Rails
A one-way ticket costs 2 pesos -- about 20 cents. If you're going to be in town for a few days, you can save money by buying a book of tickets, called castanats. Your cost will drop to about 15 cents per trip -- and that's to just about anywhere in the city. Metro is cheap.
Tickets have a magnetic strip on them that's read by the entrance gates -- just like in the Paris or Montreal Metros. There are no silly, complicated fare games like you run into in San Francisco's BART or Washington, D.C.'s Metro system -- you simply pay your fare and away you go! Platforms are clearly labelled as are the trains, so getting on the right train is rarely a problem. Every station in the Metro system (all 167 of them as of last month) has its own distinctive icon that identifies it. A temple, a parrot, a bird, a car. These aren't always recognizable at first, so it's better to just go by the station names and line numbers (even though lines are also color coded).Metro is usable.
The Metro goes just about anywhere in the central city that you'd want to go, although there are some outlying tourist places (like Teotihuacan) that you'll need to get to by bus. There are major stops at places tourists want to go, like at the Palacio de las Bellas Artes, Chapultepec Park, or the Zocalo. Metro is convenient.
If you're coming from a city like New York, you'll be amazed at the cleanliness and modern feel of Mexico City's subway system. Construction didn't really begin until 1967, so nothing in the system is older than 30 years (about the same generation as Washington, D.C.'s Metro system). Trains are much quieter than most of the world's subways because they run on rubber wheels -- not steel. Metro is modern.
One thing I like about the Mexico City subway is the character and feel of the individual stations. I always thought Washington D.C.'s Metro was rather antiseptic in its uniform dim caves of stations with their arched ceilings of dimpled concrete. Mexico City's stations are brighter and each has its own unique character, some starkly modern with a sort of industrial feeling. Some of the stations are worth seeing on their own merits! Several have great murals from Mexico's top artists (see my epinion about Murals for more info). My favorite of these is at the Insurgentes station -- it is a mural by Eugenia Caudero that features the Paris Metro -- the subway system that served as the model for Mexico City. The Pino Suarez station downtown features a genuine Aztec temple that was discovered during construction! They've also discovered lots of other things, especially Aztec ruins, when building the subway system. (A 12,000 year old wooly mammoth was also discovered at the Talisman station -- which is why the station icon is a mammoth). This accidental archaelogy really fascinates me, and there's an excellent exhibit on the subject at the National Museum of Anthropology (see my epinion on this great museum for more info). Metro is interesting.
The system is pretty extensive, and I recommend getting a good subway system map if you plan to use it often. The subway system is every bit as large and complex as the systems in London and Paris (where maps are also indispensible). There are currently 11 lines with almost 200 km of track. These lines are identified as lines 1 through 9, A, and B. Line 1 is the oldest and line B is the newest (having just opened about 8 months ago). In fact, construction never stops on the Metro. While 167 stops are online today, that number will jump to 180 within the next 3-4 months when the Line B extension opens to Cd. Azteca. Metro is huge.
The Mexico City Metro system has all the makings of a world-class subway system -- a logistical necessity in what is possibly the largest city in the world. For the tourist, the Metro is a godsend -- I can't imagine getting around town without it!
Other Ways to Get Around Town
Once you get to the station you want, the best way to explore the city is on foot. Most major museums, shopping areas, and tourist attractions are close to Metro stops.
Conventional wisdom with most travellers in Mexico City is to avoid taxis for safety reasons, and avoid city buses for grunge reasons. Stick to Metro and your feet, and you will be a far happier traveller.
Taxi
In most cities, taxis represent one of the most convenient ways to get around, but not in Mexico City!
Over the past few years there have been quite a few reports of tourists and locals alike getting robbed, beaten, or kidnapped by nefarious cabbies. Most travel guides now tell you to be wary when choosing cabs in Mexico City. Unfortunately, it's kind of hard to know when to take what advice. Most people seem to agree that you should never hail a taxi on the street, and you should NEVER agree to get in a taxi that pulls up to offer you a ride, or that doesn't look like a taxi.
I've heard several people say "don't use green Volkswagen taxis". I have no idea why they think criminals can't also drive Nissans. I think you're better off depending on people at the hotel, or sitios.
Conventional wisdom holds that taxis called for you by your hotel are going to be generally safe because they are drivers known to the hotel staff and who operate at a known sitio. I usually feel that most cabs at any sitio in the city will be safe, and I have never had a problem with them. If you find yourself in an unknown part of the city away from a Metro station, I would find a real taxi sitio and use one of those cabs -- not one hailed from the street.
While I also have faith in airport taxis, one friend who I usually trust on latin american travel issues (hi, Shannon) does not trust the airport cabs and instead uses hotel shuttles or limos. Personally, I'll continue to use the airport cabs unless I hear more substantiated tales of trouble with them.
Even if the taxis were trustworthy, they aren't a great option most of the time because Mexico City is very congested (worse than New York City) so you can often walk faster than a taxi will move. Taxis are also expensive -- at least when compared to Metro.
Bus
While I don't mind using city buses in small cities and in beach resort towns, I don't really like them in bigger cities. The second class city buses are usually big school bus type vehicles without air conditioning. Most of the passengers are from lower economic classes, and the buses are slow and stop everywhere. I also have a hard time figuring out which buses to take where and how to connect. Bus route maps are not very common. With the low cost of Metro, I see no need for most tourists to mess with the buses.
The exception is for day trips. Luxurious motor coaches go to nearby cities from 4 different bus stations, located on different sides of the city. I've never caught buses out of the south, east, or west stations, but I do know that the bus station on the north side is huge, modern, and easy to get to via the Metro (stop at Autobuses del Norte on Line 5). This is where you can catch buses out to Teotihuacan, or to cities like San Miguel de Allende.
All Aboard!
With Metro as the linchpin of its urban transit system, Mexico City is an easy place to get around -- just as easy as London or Paris, but with some added bonuses, like cleanliness and cheap fares. If you're planning a trip to Mexico City, use Metro and plan your days to avoid rush hour times. You'll get around in style for next to nothing!
Recommended:
Yes
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