Transport: Biking in Mexico City (CDMX)

Fell off my bike in Mexico City

Don't rush to get on one just yet

Bikes in Mexico City

Photo by Sasha India on Unsplash

Thanks to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), Mexico City has suddenly turned into a “Green City”. I often ask myself if these writers actually ever lived here. To me, my options of vaccination as an expat or foreigner in Mexico is something worthy of printing, not the above.

Regardless, let's get back to this post. So, the fact of getting on a bike in Mexico City is not a new phenomenon. Individuals living in this great, concrete city have always used it as an alternative mode of transportation. But don’t go rushing to get on a bike just yet.

Prepare yourself for the adventure that is to come from riding a bike to get around while living in Mexico City. We need to mention some obstacles that are out of your control and can be disastrous if you journey around Mexico City in a bike.

Infrastructure in Mexico City is a mess

Mexico is a developing country and all major cities, including Mexico City, suffer from having a low or undeveloped industrial base. It affects everything from your standard of living to the infrastructure you use.

Once here, you will notice that the majority of streets and sidewalks are poorly maintained. As a result, bike lanes are hard to find throughout Mexico City, except in major streets such as Insurgentes, and you will have to ride your bike on the street or on the sidewalk.

Either way, you will have to be very careful. People are everywhere at any given time and your ride will be challenging. You will find yourself swerving into the street or back onto the sidewalk to avoid accidents.

Watch out for that tree and please notice that that is a curb where a ramp should be. You should also know that it will be impossible to get around at times. Especially during a protest or when it rains.

Help is on the way, though. Last year, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced an ambitious infrastructure plan that will cover transportation and public works projects for the next five years.

Sidewalks in Mexico City are not for pedestrians

Figuratively speaking, one can say that sidewalks in Mexico City are made of gold. For a small fee, somewhere at around $50 pesos a day (about $3 dollars), sidewalks are filled with ambulantes, street vendors. That money goes straight into the "Alcaldes" pocket.

So you will see a lot of ambulantes in public areas. Some areas will easily fit about 20 ambulantes onto a sidewalk on one side of the street and in some Alcaldias, well, look for yourself. Ambulantes do not lack creativity and will pack both sides of a sidewalk as well.

Imagine walking, much less riding your bike through that small gap in between. These are public sidewalks. Ambulantes don’t pay taxes, water, light or rent. I do and I get charged more because someone has to pay for that usage, it is not free.

A simple solution that will benefit everyone is to build centers for them to sell out of and charge them for everything. Can you imagine the revenue stream for Mexico City (CDMX)?

Instead, the solution they came up with was to expand the sidewalks just a bit so that 2 people can fit through the gaps. Polanco had the right idea. Meanwhile, ambulantes have gone mobile.

Traffic in Mexico City will be problematic

What about motorists? Mexico City does not have a traffic problem, it is beyond that. The real issue is the drivers themselves.

There is all kinds of bureaucracy to get a driver’s license (in Spanish). However, a written exam, a driving test, health check or previous driving experience is not needed in Mexico City (CDMX) to get a license to drive.

All you need to get a license in la Ciudad de Mexico is to pay your $900 peso fee and just like that you are free to drive. I’m not quite sure, but apparently since 2016 a practical test on theory was implemented to no avail.

Fortunately for me, I was able to get a Licencia Permanente, one that does not have to be renewed regularly unless you have to replace it. This type of driver’s license can be used as an official ID but is no longer available.

And by the way, I forgot to mention that besides your $900 pesos you will need to show proof of car insurance, but still not the ability to actually know how to drive.

Imagine the chaos!! You could solve a lot of problems by applying a driving exam to every license holder. A sure guarantee is that more than half will fail. Why don’t they apply this logic? I’ll let you be the judge to that.

Prepare for your bike ride

Look into my guide for more help on living in Mexico City because traffic and badly maintained streets are just the beginning of your challenges. My posts about life in Mexico will also help you with crime, the weather and most importantly, how to deal with people you encounter here.

On an end note, more help is on the way as the President of Mexico announced on Thursday a second infrastructure investment package. Hopefully, Mexico City will benefit from this plan.