How to get around Mexico City

The best way to get around Mexico City is via Uber or a taxi. The metro is another option. Not only is it fairly clean and quick, but you can ride for approximately 0.25 US Dollars. Plus, most popular tourist attractions are easily accessible by train. Taxis are slightly more expensive, but they are a hassle-free means of getting to the city center from the Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX), which is about 6 miles east of the Centro Histórico. Uber is a safe and more affordable way to navigate the city. Driving yourself is not a great idea to and from the airport or around town.

How to get around Mexico City

You have many options to roam around Mexico City. Here are some tips to get your time traveling. 

10 Mexican Pesos are around 0.5 US Dollars and around 0.5 Euros. That’s around 40 Indian Rupees and 3.50 Chinese Yuan. 

Metrobus

Like the subway, Mexico City’s Metrobús is a cheap, efficient and super-crowded way to move around town. These red and white buses move (quickly) in dedicated lanes along the Avenida de los Insurgentes. To ride you’ll need to purchase a smartcard (available at vending machines in the Metro stations); the card will cost 16 pesos (or about $ 0.84) and rides cost 6 pesos one way (about $ 0.31). There have been some reports of inappropriate behavior and groping toward females on the metrobús; now there are also women-only buses – to ride one of those, wait at the designated platforms.

Taxi or Uber

Phone ahead for a taxi de sitio to ensure that you get official and safe transportation around the city. Most hotels and restaurants are happy to call one of the official cars for you, or you could wait at the “Sitio” signs and stands located around town. (Flagging one down on the street could leave you in the potentially precarious situation of hopping in the back of an unofficial green VW taxi and a driver with maybe questionable intentions.) Additionally, Uber operates in Mexico City and is an affordable and safe way to navigate the metropolis.

Metro

The metro is cheap, clean and efficient, but you should keep in mind a few tips before your first ride. One, the first two cars of each train are for women and children only. Two, you should only carry small bags on your person – large bags mark you as a tourist, and suitcases are not permitted at all. Three, the metro is very crowded during the morning and evening rush hours, and that’s also when it’s more prone to pickpockets. Tickets cost 5 pesos, or a little more than $0.25. 

Pesero

Peseros are gray-and-green minibuses run by private companies, commonly known as microbses or combis. They have set itineraries that frequently begin or end at metro stations, and they will stop at almost any street corner. Route details are provided at random on cards fastened to the windshield. The cost is M$ 5 for journeys up to 3 miles (5 km), and M$ 5.50 for travels between 3 and 7 km (5-12km). Between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., add 20% to all rates. For the same distances, privately operated green-and-yellow buses charge M$ 6 and M$ 7. The ViaDF website is a helpful tool for route planning with the perplexing amount of peseros. 

Trolebús 

Only full-sized cream-and-orange buses marked “RTP” and trolleybuses run by the local government pick up at bus stops. No matter the distance traveled, the fare is M$ 2 (M$ 4 for the express), and they only accept prepaid travel cards (like those used on the metro and metrobs), not cash. The rest of the city is served by trolleybuses that travel along a number of the main ejes (priority routes). Typically, they continue until 11:30 p.m. On the trolleybus website are route maps. 

Source: US News Travel