Transport and the shape of the city in Mexico City

The Movilidad Integrada card

A single rechargeable card covers the Metro, the Metrobús, the Trolebús, the Tren Ligero and the Cablebús, and it is sold and topped up at station machines. Fares are flat and very low by any international standard, which makes public transport the default for a large share of the city. The Metrobús runs in dedicated lanes and is often faster than a taxi along the same corridor.

• Metro: flat fare, currently among the lowest in the world.
• Metrobús and Trolebús: bus rapid transit in segregated lanes, on the same card.
• Cablebús: cable cars serving the steep peripheral neighbourhoods.
• The front carriages of the Metro and the front section of Metrobús buses are reserved for women and children at busy times.

Taxis and apps

Uber and DiDi are widely used, cheap, and preferred to hailing a taxi in the street; sitio taxis booked from a stand are the traditional alternative. Journeys of a few kilometres cost little, so a lot of people combine metro for the long leg with an app for the last part. Ride prices surge steeply in the evening peak and when it rains, which in the wet season is most afternoons.

Driving, Hoy No Circula and verificación

Owning a car here comes with two obligations that catch newcomers. Hoy No Circula bars vehicles from the road on a set weekday and some Saturdays, according to the last digit of the plate and the emissions sticker the car holds. Verificación vehicular is a twice-yearly emissions test that determines that sticker. When the city declares an environmental contingency, the restrictions tighten further at short notice — parking is also scarce and controlled in the central colonias.

• Hoy No Circula: no driving on your assigned day, by plate digit and hologram.
• Verificación vehicular: twice a year; the result sets which restrictions apply to you.
• Contingencia ambiental adds restrictions with a day's notice.
• Foreign-plated cars face their own rules — check before importing one.

Bikes, walking and the airports

Ecobici covers the central colonias densely and the protected cycle lanes have expanded considerably; Roma, Condesa and the Reforma corridor are genuinely cyclable, and Reforma closes to cars on Sunday mornings. The main airport, Benito Juárez, sits inside the city with two terminals that are not connected airside — allow real time to move between them. A second airport, Felipe Ángeles, is well to the north and is an hour or more from the central neighbourhoods.

• Ecobici: annual or short-term subscription, dense in the central colonias.
• AICM Terminals 1 and 2 are separate buildings; the shuttle between them takes time.
• AIFA is far north — check which airport a cheap fare actually uses.