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Whenever you want to get around or escape the city,
you have options of transportation :
 Metro
The metro is easy to use. Every station is well indicated and every
line has a different color. Each ticket is good for one ride including
transfers ($2 the ride). The metro is open from 5 AM to midnight
from Monday to Friday and from 6AM on Saturday and from 7AM on Sunday.
The airport is accessible with line 5. Go the Terminal Aérea
(to or from the room A). The metro services most of the tourist
sites (with transfers sometimes). Maps of the metro network are
available in every station or on the website : 
or .
Be aware that during the rush hours (7AM/10AM-5PM/8PM), you are
not allowed to use the metro with big luggage.
The metro is pleasant to use with wide, clean and well lighted corridors.
The signs are easy to read too.
In the cars, the stations are shown with designs as well as names.
The forward cars are reserved to women and children.
Example of ride time : Metro Zócalo-Guadalupe : 35 min; Zócalo-Tlatelcolco
: 15 min.
Alstom Transport won the contract of modernization of the metro
of Mexico City :
equipment of 25 trains on the line 8 between August 2007 and February
2008, and the maintenance contract for ten years.
In the city with heavy traffic as in Mexico
City and Guadalajara,
the metro is, like everywhere else, the fastest way of transportation.
There is huge activity in Mexico City
(the average daily number of passengers in 2009 : 4 million with
175 stations and 11 lines).
Autobus
It is the only real mean of transportation in Mexico.
Mexico modernized itself and offers several ultra
modern bus lines to connect the big cities of the city. They offer
a frequent and reliable service. You have a choice between the autobus
:
DELUXE (de
lujo or ejecutivo) : they provide
the most frequent connections. They are fast, modern, with air conditioning
and toilets. Food and drink are available on board. – companies
ETN, ADO-GL, UNO, Primera Plus, Tap, Estrella de oro diamante or
Crucero or plus, Pullman ejecutivo or dorada or de lujo, etc
First class : (primera
clase) : comfortable, with air conditioning and toilets :
They connect the big cities- companies Cristobal Colon, ADO, Pullman
de Morellos, Estrella de Oro primera, Pacifico, Omnibus de Mexico,
Flecha Amarilla, Lina dorada, Pullman primera clase, greyhound ,
etc.. In this category First class, an attendant offers drinks and
snacks on board.
Direct economic (directo
économico) : Ado économico, AU, Cuenca, Sur,
Pullman Lasser
2NDE class (segunda
clase) : provide the connections between the smaller cities,
the villages and some interurban rides. They are different concerning
the comfort and security. Companies Herradura de Plata, Estrella
Roja, etc…
You have to buy your deluxe and first class ticket
at the window.
In the big cities, the companies of autobus are grouped in a Bus
Station that can be located outside the city, which will involve
taking a taxi to reach it. In some big cities, there are two bus
stations, one called central de autobuses, the other one terminal
de autobuses.
Except for the second class autobus, you will be able to reserve
your seat with their computerized system. For half a day trip, just
go to the station half an hour ahead. For longer trips, make reservations
24 hours ahead.
You can also, now, make reservation through the internet : www.ticketbus.com.mx
or by phone : 01- 800-702-80-00 (outside Mexico City) or
in Mexico City (55) 51 33 24 24 – The website gives
you schedules, companies names and fares as well as links to franchises
of hotels, in 4 languages (Spanish, English, French and German).
It is by far, the best way to find any information (company; fare;
terminal; departure time) before a trip. Credit cards accepted.
Be aware that, sometimes, some destinations are missing : don’t
be surprised !
Be sure to go the the right station. Some destinations like Puebla
have departures from different stations. Mexico
City is a megalopolis ! The website advises to make reservations
one day ahead.
The bus company ADO offers a pass called "buspass" for
7, 14, 21 or 30 days across the country, in comfortable buses with
air conditioning and toilets, for the respective fares of US$195,
US$295, US$395 or US$660. Log on to their site : www.buspass.com.mx.
You can buy bus tickets in downtown Mexico
City at Isabel la Catolica # 83 (in a badly indicated garage),
in an office on the right of the courtyard/parking (there is a sign
“public E” for Estacionamento public). The office is
also used for Multi Pack : open from Monday to Friday from 10 AM
to 7 PM (closed from 3PM to 4PM) and on Saturday from 10 AM to 1
PM, 
5133 2424. You can buy tickets to and from any city in Mexico.
Example : the price of the ticket Mexico-Puebla
1st class (primera) from TAPO, $130 and $75 for Cuernavaca.
Fares scale : Deluxe autobuses are 12 to 20% more expensive than
first class autobuses, which are 10 to 20% more expensive than the
second class autobuses.
You can safely travel by night. Like the Mexicans, we crossed a
big part of the country by night. In each bus station, whatever
the time you arrive, you will find an open coffee shop and above
all, very clean toilets where you could even freshen up.
Always ask for a receipt for your checked luggage. Always keep your
valuable belongings and documents with you. If you can’t get
a receipt, especially in second class buses, keep your luggage with
you. Be aware that if you have a big bag, only the seats by the
side of the driver will be comfortable.
It is difficult to give you times and destinations but here are
the websites of the most important bus companies :
 ABC : www.abc.com.mx
(Baja California and north-west)
ADO : www.ado.com.mx
or www.adogl.com.mx
Estrella Blanca
/ Flecha Roja / Futura /Elite / Transportes
Chihuahenses / Transportes del Norte / Turistar : www.estrellablanca.com.mx
- (these companies are all part of the same group : Estrella Blanca)
Estrella de Oro
: www.estrelladeoro.com.mx
Estrella de Roja
: www.estrellaroja.com.mx
ETN : www.etn.com.mx,
01 800 8000 386
Ómnibus
de México: www.odm.com.mx
Parhikuni de Michoacán
: www.parhikuni.com
Pullman de Morelos
: www.pullman.com.mx
UNO : www.uno.com.mx
Flecha amarilla
: www.flecha-amarilla.com.mx
(site often with problems)- same site as Primeraplus-
Turistarsur : www.costaline.com.mx
(for the Pacific Coast and Mexico
City)
TMT-Caminante :
www.tmt-caminante.com.mx
Greyhound : for
Tijuana/Mexicali/Nogales/Cd Juarez/Nuevo Laredo/Reynosa/Matamoros
- www.greyhound.com.mx
or
01 800 710 88 19.
Noroeste : www.turisticosnoroeste.com
-
(614) 411 57 83 or 01 800 400 1234 (transport
for the north of Mexico).
You can consult the
in order to obtain the complete list of the bus companies in
Mexico.
ETN Company : you can double check in any forum : this company has
an excellent service for some extra pesos. We really recommend it
especially for long trips.
Bus stations in Mexico City
NORTH /
TERMINAL CENTRAL DEL NORTE – av. de los 100 Metros
N° 4907 – CP 07760 - Mexico DF -
(55) 55 87 15 52 ou 55 53 68 81 71, Metro :Terminal de Autobuses
Norte – Departures to Aguascalientes/Chihuahua/Durango/Guadalajara/Guanajuato/Léon/Mazatlán/Morelia/Monterrey/Pachuca/Palenque/
Puebla/ Puerto Vallarta/Querétaro/San
Luis Potosí/San Miguel
de Allende/Teotihuacán/Tepic/Tijuana/
Tula/Zacatecas.
Consult the site of the North Terminal for the list of the bus companies
and the schedules/fares : www.centraldelnorte.com.mx
SOUTH
/ TERMINAL CENTRAL DEL SUR - av. Taxquena N° 1320 –
CP 04200, Mexico DF -
(55) 56 89 97 45– Metro:Taxquena,
Departures to Acapulco/Cuernavaca/Huatulco/Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo/Oaxaca/Puebla/Taxco/Tepoztlán.
EAST /
TERMINAL DE AUTOBUSES DE ORIENTE, also called Tapo –
Calzada Ignacio Zaragoza N° 200 – CP 15440 Mexico
DF –
(55)55 22 54 00, Metro : San Lázaro
–
Departures to Campeche/Cancún/Chetumal/Merida/Oaxaca/Puebla/San
Cristóbal/Tuxtla/Veracruz/Villahermosa.
WEST /
TERMINAL DE AUTOBUSES PONIENTE (west) – Sur 122 esquina
Rio Tacubaya – CP 01130 Mexico DF –
(55) 52 71 45 19 - Metro : Observatorio
– Departures to Morelia/Pátzcuaro/Toluca.
The destinations are given as a rough guide only. You need
to double check on the premises.
Every terminal offers luggage lockers, authorized taxis
windows, tourist information booth, ATM, post, internet access,
phones cards, newspapers stands, bar and snacks.
City
transportation
There are a lot of public transportations in Mexico
City but no schedule, only bus stops indicated with a sign or
a bus shelter. You can travel the whole city using the metro and
peseros. To take a pesero, you need to speak a
little bit of Spanish, have a good sense of direction or know the
map. You pick a big avenue towards the wished direction and wave
to the driver. You ask him if the bus goes to your destination and
stay by the driver waiting for him to tell you where to get off
the minibus. You need change - $2.50 for less than 5 km (4 miles),
$3 between 5 and 12km (4 and 9 miles) and $4 for more than 12km
(9 miles).
The pesero is an excellent and cheap way of visiting the
city, but it could be crowded. By “colectivo”:
service from 6 AM to 11 PM (mini-bus) – It will start when
full. Fares are difficult to estimate but it is cheap.
Information : STC (Sîstema de Transporte Colectivo),
(55)
5709 1133.
The system of Metrobus which opened in the city in June 2005 received
bad criticism: it is more expansive ($5) than the peseros
or colectivos. But these last ones pollute a lot and the
City of Mexico is
finally sensitive to the problem of pollution. The Mexicans think
green and try to find solutions for a purer air! (Hybrid vehicles
among other solutions).
May 2008 : Inauguration of the first rail of the Suburban Train
servicing the East of Mexico City,
It is predicted that they will transport up to 320,000 passengers
every day, i.e. 100 million a year. There are plans in the near
future to extend the second part of the rail 20 km (13 miles) longer.
Rental cars
It’s not difficult at all to rent a car if you have a valid
driving license, a passport and an international credit card (age
limit : 25 year old minimum, sometimes 21). You can rent a car in
the airports, agencies, some hotels or Bus stations. Make a reservation
several days ahead. If you book your reservation before leaving
your country, you should save some money (the taxes called IVA).
Make the right choice : limited or unlimited mileage depending on
your planned trips. It is an excellent way to visit sites, markets
or attend celebrations in remote places badly serviced by the public
transport.
List of the international car rental companies (numbers in Mexico)
:
ALAMO –
55 52 50 00 55 – International
airport of México City -
55 57 86 92 14 -
01 800 849 80 01, www.alamo.com
AVIS -
55 55 11 22 28 – International
airport of México City -
55 57 62 32 62 - 55 88 88 88,
01 800 288 88 88, www.avis.com
BUDGET –
55 55 66 88 15 – International
airport of México City –
55 57 84 30 11 - 55 66 68 00,
01 800 700 1700,
www.budget.com
DOLLAR –
International airport
of México City -
55 25 99 11 11, www.dollar.com
EUROPCAR –
55 52 07 55 80 – International
airport of México City -
55 57 86 82 64/65 -
01 800 201 20 84 ou 01 800 00 39500, www.europcar.com
HERTZ –
55 55 92 83 43 - International
airport of México City -
55 57 62 83 72 -
01 800 709 50 00,
www.hertz.com
NATIONAL –
55 57 03 22 22 – International
airport of México City -
55 57 86 90 26 -
01 800 716 66 25, www.nationalcar.com
THRIFTY –
55 5207 1100 - International
airport of México City -
55 57 86 82 68 - 57 86 94 86 or 87
01 800 021 22 77, www.thrifty.com
Renting a car is quite expensive in Mexico : count
on $700 to $850 a day for an economic car with unlimited mileage,
including all insurances. It is a good idea to double check that
the insurance policy includes the collision damage waiver and is
still valid.
If you want to book through the Internet, you can log on to the
websites :
www.mexicol.com-
www.travelocity.com- www.hotelclub.net.
The numbers 01 800 are accessible for calls from outside
Mexico city.
Traffic
in the capital - (measures anti-pollution)
Because of an important pollution, Mexico
City took anti-pollution measures with the program :”Hoy
No Circular”, meaning don’t drive today. On the back
window of each vehicle, a colored sticker reminds the license plate
number. The last digit is linked to a color and a day of non allowed
driving. If your license plate number ends in 5 or 6, you can’t
drive on Monday (yellow) and the first saturday each month; if it
ends in 7 or 8, you can’t drive on Tuesday (pink) and the
second saturday each month; if it ends in 3 or 4, you can’t
drive on Wednesday (red) and the third saturday each month; if it
ends in 1 or 2, you can’t drive on Thursday (green) and the
fourth saturday each month; if it ends in 9 or 0, you can’t
drive on Friday (blue) and the fifth saturday each month. This rule
is applied from 5AM to 10PM from monday to saturday but is lifted
on Sundays.
Since January, 1st 2008, the Hoy No Circular is also adopted on
Saturdays, meaning that 1/5 of the vehicles can’t run between
10AM and 6PM.
The foreign registered vehicles or without registration can’t
drive in the Capital from Monday to Friday, 5AM-11AM.
If you rent a car, be sure that you have the code 00 (double zero)
on the lateral window; this code allows you to drive every day.
If you don’t respect the rule, you could receive at least
a $1500 fine.
The Paseo de la Reforma Avenue and the historic center, by the Zócalo
is off limits to cars from 7AM to 2PM on Sundays. Log onto : www.sma.df.gob.mx.
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