Seguro En México

The plaza at Cablebús Campos Revolucíon on a rainy weekend afternoon in the summer.

Help!

¡Ayuda!

With the world burning, here's a mental health strategy. Focus on the positive. Turn away from the 24/7 news cycle and witness how creative transportation planning and a commitment to improving the lives of residents of hard-to-reach parts of Mexico City is achieving measurable results. And to get here, ride Cablebús, which is how greater Mexico City moves an increasing number of its 22 million residents.

In Campos Revolucíon, Cablebús Línea 1 has brought good things (beyond faster, affordable transportation) including this soccer pitch and an adjacent community center offering free activities, to the north of the city.

Yes, it is me again with a few rain-drenched observations about Cablebús and Movilidad Integrada in CDMX.

Campos Revolucíon

I am always awed by what I find around the Cablebús Línea 1 and 2 stations in the north and east of the city. Less so with the newest Cablebús addition, Línea 3, which goes from Los Pinos/Constituyentes to Vasco de Quiroga but hopefully things will improve as the line extends further out to the train to Toluca in Santa Fe, and beyond.

The plaza and community center at Cablebús Campos Revolucíon.

Of course Línea 3 is an important addition to Movilidad Integrada. It just doesn't feel as urgently needed as Líneas 1 and 2 which serve the colonias north of Indios Verdes and east of Iztapalapa (Constitución de 1917). Community assets like the Pilares center, the soccer pitch and economic development are the unsung heroes of Cablebús.

The community center, and soccer pitch at Campos Revolucíon are steps from the Cablebús station.

Getting There

On a slow, rainy weekend afternoon in June, I have come to Campos Revolucíon in the north of CDMX to indulge my transit envy. A one-hour trip from Metro Chapultepec, my route is east on Metro Línea 1 to Metro Balderas where I change to Metro Linéa 3 to Indios Verdes and Cablebús Línea 1.

Cablebús Línea 1 at Indios Verdes.

Transit Envy

I have come to Campos Revolucíon and adjacent Castillo Chico to enjoy the small town feel and the lush green mountains three Cablebús stations north of the bustling Indios Verdes transportation terminal (cetram). Indios Verdes features a startling array of public transportation and even without the relaxed feel of the colonias and the deep green of the mountains, the trip makes me smile.

Riding Cablebús in CDMX sure beats reading the news.

I need my regular dose of great Movilidad Integrada and CDMX always obliges.

As much as I love my hometown, New York, I know when I head to the City soon for a visit, I won't find the wealth of transit solutions that one has here. Sadly, though New York has the best public transit (including a great bike share program!) in the other Estados Unidos, it pales in comparison with CDMX's transporte público.

Nearly overcome with transit envy at Indios Verdes.

An elevated walkway at Cetram Indios Verdes connects riders with Cablebús, Metrobús, Metro, Méxibus to Estado de México (Edomex) and hundreds of different combis. Mexicable, Edomex's cable car transit network, is also available at Indios Verdes.

Following several years of drought, heavy summer rain has returned to Mexico with a vengeance.

Extending Cablebús to the northern reaches of CDMX has cut commute times and improved the quality of life for residents of the outer colonias.

Real Bus Rapid Transit

As I usually do, when returning home from Indios Verdes, my trip home is above ground on Metrobus Línea 1, one of the city's dozens of true bus rapid transit lines (BRT). While it may not be as fast as the Metro, I like to take in the city as the bus heads down Insurgentes (La avenida de los Insurgentes) back to the center.

Heading to Metrobús Línea 1. Indios Verdes.

A special section of the bus and Metro is reserved for women, seniors and people with disabilities.

Affordable fares and refillable fare cards are other pluses on transit in CDMX. Metrobús Insurgentes.

Undeterred by the weather, I am inspired. Movilidad Integrada has given me the help I need.

Yours in transit,

Joel

#cdmx #mexicocity #indiosverdes #camposrevolucíon #castillochico #edomex #busrapidtransit #brt #cablebús #mexicable #metro #metrobús #mexibús #movilidadintegrada