For all its size and frantic
pace, once you're used to it
Mexico City is surprisingly
easy to get around, with an
efficient and very cheap
public transport system as
well as reasonably priced
taxis.
You'll want to walk
around the cramped streets
of the centre, but remember
the altitude - walking gets
tiring quickly, especially
for the first day or so. If
you're heading for
Chapultepec or the Zona
Rosa, you're better off
taking the bus or Metro
- it's an interesting walk
all the way down Reforma,
but a very long one. As for
the outer suburbs, you've
got no choice but to rely on
taxis or public transport.
You'll save a lot of hassle
if you avoid travelling
during rush hour
(about 7-9am & 6-8pm).
Tours that take in
the city and often include
the surrounding area are
available from most of the
more expensive hotels, and
from specialist operators
such as Gray Line, Londres
166 (tel 5208-1163); Maxi
Tours, Amberes 69 (tel
5525-6812); and American
Express, with various
locations around the city (tel
5326-2877).
Driving
Rental cars are
available from the airport
and elsewhere, but it is
generally better to wait
until you are ready to
leave the city before
renting. If you already
have a car, it's advisable
to choose a hotel with
secure parking and leave
it there for the duration
of your stay, except
possibly to do a tour of
the south of the city.
Driving in the city is a
nightmare, compounded by
confusing one-way and
through-route systems, by
the impossibility of
finding anywhere to park
and by traffic police who
can spot foreign plates a
mile off and know a
potential "fine"
when they see one. If you
insist on driving, note
that the "Green
Angels" that operate
throughout the rest of the
country do not operate
within Mexico City: for breakdown
help call the AAM
(equivalent of the AA or
the AAA) on 5578-7531.
The Metro and Tren Ligero
Mexico City's superb
modern
Metro system
(enquiries on 5709-1133)
is French-built, fast and
quiet. It is also crowded
and at peak times some
stations designate
separate entries for women
and children only (look
for the "Mujeres"
signs), but this is rarely
applied, and on the whole
it is no more crowded than
its New York or London
counterparts.
Tickets
(US$0.15) are sold
individually and there is
no discount for bulk
purchases, though to save
a lot of queueing and
messing about with tiny
quantities of change it
makes sense to buy several
at a time. In theory
you're not allowed
luggage
of any size on the Metro,
but in practice you can if
you board at a quiet
station at a quiet time,
and these days even a
backpack seems to be
tolerated at busy times.
The last train leaves from
each end of the line at
midnight (1am Sat), with
the first train at 5am
Monday-Friday, 6am on
Saturday and 7am on
Sunday.
Once you've got into
the system, there are no
maps, just pictographic
representations of the
line you are on along with
the stations where you can
transfer to other lines.
Before you set off you
need to work out which way
you'll be travelling on
each line, and where to
change. Direction is
indicated by the last
station at either end of
the line (thus on line 2
you'll want either "Dirección
Cuatro Caminos" or
"Dirección Tasqueña");
interchanges are indicated
by the word "Correspondencia"
and the name of the new
line.
One of the most recent
additions to the system is
the Tren Ligero ,
which runs south from
Tasqueña (the southern
terminus of line 2) as far
as Xochimilco, entirely
above ground. Though
almost identical to the
Metro system it is run
separately with a
different ticketing
system. When you change at
Tasqueña you'll need to
buy a Tren Ligero ticket
from the machines in the
concourse (US$0.15), which
is good for any one-way
journey.
City buses
At one time
buses
in Mexico City were
beaten-up old bone-shakers
trailing plumes of black
smoke behind them, but
nowadays they have
smartened up their act and
are generally large and
reasonably clean, and may
sometimes be two-unit
affairs hinged in the
middle. They're also very
efficient, if you know
where you're going.
There's a flat
fare
of roughly US$0.15 per
journey.
The two most useful
routes are #55 along
Reforma, and #17 along
Insurgentes from Indios
Verdes in the north, past
the Terminal del Norte,
the train station, Metro
Insurgentes and eventually
on to San Ángel and the
university in the south.
There are also trolleybuses
running in both directions
along Lázaro Cárdenas
(the "Eje
Central", or Central
Axis). Buses display their
destinations in the front
window, which is somewhat
more helpful than looking
for route numbers, since
the latter are usually not
posted up.
The area just by Chapultepec
Metro station at the
entrance to the park is
also a major bus terminus,
from where you can get to
almost any part of the
city. Note that during rush
hour it can be almost
impossible to get a bus:
once they're full, they
simply don't stop to let
passengers on.
Peseros (colectivos)
Running down the major
through-routes, especially
on Reforma and Insurgentes,
you'll find peseros
( colectivos ),
which are smaller and
faster but charge more
than the bus (far less
than a regular taxi,
however) and will let you
on and off anywhere along
their set route. They're
mostly thirty-seater buses
or VW vans, usually green
with a white roof, and
have their destination
displayed on the
windscreen - drivers of
the smaller vehicles may
sometimes hold up a number
of fingers to indicate how
many free seats they have.
Like buses, peseros have
route numbers, but routes
often have branches, and a
vehicle may start or
finish in the middle of a
route rather than at the
end, so again it's more
helpful to check the
destination in the window.
One of the most useful
routes is #2, which
runs Monday to Friday from
Chapultepec Park via the
Alameda to the Zócalo.
Taxis
Ordinary taxis come
in a variety of forms.
Cheapest and best are the
green-and-white ones (the
colours indicate the use
of unleaded gasoline) or,
increasingly rarely,
yellow-and-white cabs that
cruise the streets looking
for custom. Both are
usually VW Beetles and
should have a meter (make
sure it's switched on) and
are extremely good value
compared to anywhere in
Europe or North America -
the smaller taxis seem to
charge less and can
negotiate the traffic much
more easily. The orange
cabs that wait at sitios
(taxi ranks) charge
slightly more, but in
general work the same way.
Watch out, though, for turismo
taxis, which lie in wait
outside hotels and charge
rates at least treble
those of ordinary taxis.
In the normal course of
events you should avoid
them, but they do have a
couple of advantages,
namely that they're almost
always around and that
many of the drivers speak
some English. They can be
worth it if, for example,
you need to get to the
airport in a hurry (for
which they charge no more
than a SETTA cab would) or
if you want to go on a
tour for a few hours. In
the latter case, with some
ferocious haggling, you
might even get a bargain.
If you need to phone a
taxi , try Servitaxis
(tel 5516-6020), Taximex (tel
5519-7690) or Transportación
Terrestre al Aeropuerto (tel
5571-4913). Again, it's
virtually impossible to
get a taxi in the rush
hour.
