Like all large cities, Mexico City is complicated to navigate and traffic is responsible for depleting a large part of our energy. Luckily, this also means that there are a thousand options to avoid it. Keep reading and discover some of the best.
Whether you want to avoid driving or being in a car for a long time, the advantages of visiting such a big city is that it has options for everything. Don’t worry about being late for that meeting or not finding how to get back to your hotel at rush hour. There is always a way to make your commute more bearable.
Private driver
Uber / Didi / Beat
Mobility application services are increasingly common. They are so easy to use and so accessible that they facilitate many things. In Mexico City you will find many Apps that are already competing with Uber (previously the only one). These are the most common.
Uber – Since it has been in Mexico City more time, it has the most drivers, so your waiting time is rarely going to be longer than five minutes. It has Uber pool services to share trips for a lower rate, you can hire vans, it has an alert button, luxury cars and you can divide the rate with your travel companions. In addition, this year it has an extra advantage: you can also use its Jump bicycle service to move around the city.
Didi – It definitely has lower rates than Uber, but you may have to wait a little longer for them to arrive. It is the second most popular service, but it has no options other than a car for an individual trip. Didi has sporadic promotions during the day, it can be a three-hour discount, some promo codes for future trips or even discounts on trips after a number of them, you just have to be aware of their notifications.
Beat – Mercedes Benz take on mobility. It arrived in Mexico earlier this year and has been in charge of amazing its users. It is the cheapest of the three and is still making its way to dethrone Uber. The good thing about Beat is that it always tries to offer very cheap trips for users without deducting fees from drivers. It is reliable and has made a great investment in Mexico, so it is expected that in the future it will become a favorite.
For all three you have to download the application on your cell phone, put your card as a payment method and voila! Ask for your trip and forget about stressing behind the wheel.
Recommendations: As in every big city, be sure to always be alert. Check the plates of the car when it arrives for you, make sure it is the model and color that the application indicates, try to travel in the back seat and always ask the drivers to identify themselves.
Pedal your way through the city!
Jump / Mobike / Ecobici
If you want to circumvent traffic, avoid subway crowds and also exercise, bicycles are the best option. There are already so many around the city that you will not have any problem finding them, surely you have already seen several rolling around.
Ecobici – They are the official bicycles of Mexico City. They work with a card so you don’t really need to download the App (although it helps a lot) and you can grab a bike from any station you see. You have 45 minutes to make your trip and return it to another station. They have 480 stations, 6,800 bikes and are in 55 areas. It has the most coverage. To have your card you can be a foreigner or Mexican, you only need a valid ID and a card in your name. Rates are: for an annual membership $ 462, 7 days $ 346, 3 days $ 208 and 1 day $ 104. If you spend more than 45 minutes a charge is added, do not have it for 24 hours because it costs $ 5,771. Find the registration modules here.
Mobike – These are orange bicycles with a basket that you have already seen rolling on CDMX. To contract the service you have to download the application and subscribe to the plan that suits you best, you can pay by card or cash at Oxxo stores. They have 360-day rates for $ 759, 90 days $ 259 and 30 days $ 99 and have seasonal promotions so be alert. It works from 5 am to midnight.
Jump – These are electric bicycles from Uber that will take you far away while you ride, it doesn’t matter if you are on a steep hill, the engine helps you go faster. In the same application you use for Uber select the bike icon and find one near you, reserve it 5 minutes in advance, unlock it and pay $ 3 per minute. The areas covered are: Nápoles, Polanco, Del Valle, Roma Sur, Roma Norte, San Miguel Chapultepec, Condesa and Cuauhtémoc.
Recommendations: In some areas of the city there are exclusive lanes for bicycles, be sure to use them and be very careful with cars in the areas that do not have them. Wear a helmet and don’t go too fast, remember that sometimes people don’t use their mirrors.
Fun on two wheels!
Grin / Econduce
A faster and fun alternative is to drive a scooter to reach your destination.
Grin – they are electric scooters that you will see throughout the city in their designated areas that include Polanco, Roma, Condesa, Juárez and some sections of the San Rafael and Granada. You just have to download the App, register your card, scan the QR code and voila! Your scooter is already unlocked. One advantage is that if you have the Rappi App you can use it to use Grin without downloading its App. Driving them is very easy, but be careful because they go faster than you think, their rates are $ 3 per minute + the unlocking cost (which at certain times is free).
Econduce – this is perhaps the most innovative and different option. They are electric scooters that are unlocked through an application so you can start driving around the city. They reach a speed of 55 km / hr, they are ecological, they come with a helmet, they are easy to handle, they can be driven every day and they give you a free driving class on your first unlocking. Their rates are handled by plans, the basic one costs $ 3 per minute, you do not have to pay a monthly fee, but at night you cannot use them. The Premium plan costs $ 1.5 a minute, the monthly fee is $ 199 and if you want to use it all night it is $ 150 and $ 200 all day.
Recommendations: in both cases always remember to use both hands on the handlebar, wear a helmet, respect the direction the cars are going in and not drive on the sidewalk.
In FlowSuites we have bicycles in some or our locations. Be sure to ask our concierge, we will be happy to help you.
