A new cable car system opened in Mexico City on Monday, giving commuters a bird’s-eye view of one of the world’s largest and most congested cities.
Thousands of residents in northern Mexico City will benefit from the 9.2-kilometre (5.7-mile) aerial tramway, which is made up of 377 cars that can each carry ten passengers.
“How much time has been squandered? They should have done it a long time ago “Marco Antonio Garcia, a 46-year-old electrician, is overjoyed that a commute that used to take more than an hour now takes only 20 minutes.
He asked, joking with the other passengers, “Are we in France or Switzerland?”
In contrast to pickpockets and thieves on the buses and subway, passengers on the new Cablebus system enjoyed comfy seats, legroom, air conditioning, and Wi-Fi.
Karen Leon, a 21-year-old psychology student who was traveling with family members who looked down over the city with a mixture of awe and amusement, remarked, “It cuts my journey time a lot.”
It was a pleasant departure from the torturous commutes many people face in the city and its surrounding urban sprawl, which is home to more than 20 million people.
According to Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration, the line between Cuautepec and Indios Verdes can transport up to 5,000 people each hour between six stations with wants to develop a second line in the city’s east.
Another cable car system opened in Ecatepec, just north of the city, in 2016, in an area beset by violence and little public transportation.
Similar systems can be found in a number of other Latin American towns, including a 32-kilometre aerial tramway in Bolivia’s La Paz and El Alto.
