Getting Around Mexico City: A Transport Guide

Mexico City is served by the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo Metro, an extensive metro system (207 km), the largest in Latin America, the first portions of which were opened in 1969. The system has 11 lines in 175 stations and a 12ve. line is planned to be constructed in the year 2008 among with a suburban rail system (currently under construction) similar to the French RER system. One of the busiest in the world, the metro transports approximately 4 million people every day, surpassed only by Moscow's (7.5 million), Tokyo's (5.9 million), and New York City's (4.9 million).

However, the Metro does not extend outside the limits of the Federal District and therefore an extensive network of bus routes has been implemented. These are mostly managed by private companies which are allowed to operate buses as long as they adhere to certain minimal service quality standards.

The city government also operates a network of large buses, in contrast with the privately operated microbuses, with fares barely exceeding that of the metro. Electric transport other than the metro also exists, in the form of trolleybuses and the Xochimilco Light Rail line. The city's first bus rapid transit line, the Metrobús, began operation in June 2005 on Avenida Insurgentes.

There is also an environmental program, called Hoy No Circula (known in English as "One Day without a Car"), whereby only vehicles with certain ending numbers on their license plates are allowed to circulate on certain days in an attempt to cut down on pollution and traffic congestion. The program groups vehicles by their ending license plate digits, and every weekday vehicles having any of the day's two "hoy no circula" digits are banned from circulating. For instance, on Fridays, vehicles with plates ending in 9 or 0 may not drive. This program is controversial since it has resulted in many better-off households buying extra cars reducing the program's benefits; also, newer vehicles are exempt from complying with the program, a move said to have been pushed by auto makers to boost sales of new vehicles.