Mexico City – This capital’s gleaming new skyscrapers and scrubbed colonial facades have been joined by tourist-friendly transportation worthy of the downtown area’s budding rebirth.
No more cramming into packed subway cars and dodging pickpockets.
No more robberies in street taxis. No more taking your life into your hands on rusting “microbuses” with bald tires and bad brakes.
The double-decker, open-air Turibus offers a unique view of one of the world’s largest cities, and a good way to get around the central part of town. The Turibus is quickly becoming a Mexico City icon, with the number of London-style, bright red vehicles jumping from just one when the service opened two years ago to 15 today.
The buses form a circuit through most of Mexico City’s top tourist destinations: the historic downtown, which is undergoing a massive renovation; Reforma Avenue, studded with statues, including the Angel of Independence; the swank Polanco neighborhood, with its luxury stores and pricey restaurants; the leafy, museum-laden Chapultepec Park; and the hip Condesa neighborhood.
There are 130 sites of interest along the route, with 25 official stops where riders can get off and on. Just about the only major area of interest the bus doesn’t cover is the southern neighborhood of Coyoacan.
Tickets are sold on the bus. For the equivalent of about $10, visitors to this centuries-old capital founded by the Aztecs can hear recorded descriptions of the sights in five languages (including English) via headphones. A security guard and multilingual guide also are on board.
The entire tour takes about 2 1/2 hours, depending on traffic. Two- and three-day passes are sold at a deep discount over the one-day rate. The daily service (except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day) runs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“One thing that has truly been surprising is the number of people from the city who are taking the bus to get to know (downtown) better,” said spokesman Carlos Betancourt. Sixty percent of riders are in that category, with 20 percent from the Mexican interior and another 20 from foreign nations.
The company that won the city government’s concession to run the Turibus has started similar services in the cities of Puebla, Merida and, just last August, Veracruz, Betancourt said.
And in Mexico City, the service is branching out into niche markets.
One Wednesday each month, Turibus offers a private tour of the museum dedicated to the late Mexican painter Rufino Tamayo, followed by a live jazz show, and a late-night bus tour that begins at 9 p.m.
There also are special tours of the Papalote children’s museum, and Thursday night bus tours.
Betancourt admits there have been few complaints.
There are no restrooms aboard the buses, but riders may get on and off as often as they like. Except in winter, would-be Turibus passengers should take a hat to avoid getting sunburned.
Also, street protests often close major thoroughfares, such as Reforma, which forms the backbone of the downtown area. Luckily, the buses have been able to take alternate routes.
Finally, Mexico City traffic can be brutal, although peak demand for the Turibus is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., which avoids the worst traffic and the rain that usually falls on summer afternoons.
“There is a profound renovation going on in the city,” said Betancourt, “and the Turibus is part of that package.”
Riding the bus: The Turibus may be boarded at 25 locations along its circuit. The most popular include Auditorio Nacional (National Auditorium) in Chapultepec Park; Casa Lamm cultural center in the Roma neighborhood; and the Zocalo plaza in the center of historic downtown.
Information: Call Turibus at 011-52-55-5563-6693 or 011-52-55-5598-6309. Several languages, including English, are spoken.
Detailed information in Spanish is at An English-language version of the site is expected this year.
The Mexico City government has a tourist site, , with information in English (in the yellow bar on the upper left side of the page, click on “English” if site opens in Spanish). Find basic Turibus information by clicking on the icon picturing a small bus (yellow bar, top right). Find phone numbers by clicking on the “i” icon.
