My cousin's offhand comment about bus tickets in Mexico City changed how I see travel

We were just chatting about his trip and he said, 'I spent more on a single Uber from the airport than I did on all my city buses for a week.' That stuck with me. I always default to rideshares in new places thinking they're the easiest option. But he explained how he got a local transit card for like 30 pesos, loaded it up, and just figured out the routes. He said the buses were clean, ran all the time, and he saw way more of the actual city. It made me realize I've been paying for convenience and missing the real experience. I'm planning a trip to Lisbon now and my first move is to look up their transit pass. Has anyone else had a good experience ditching cabs for local buses in a foreign city?

3 comments

3 Comments

miller.emery1mo ago

Good point @margareto26, Tokyo subway sounds like a beast. I actually read somewhere that Tokyo's transit system moves like 40 million people a day or something crazy, doing it all by bus there would take some serious planning. Glad the locals helped you figure it out before you went broke though, thats a real win.

margareto261mo ago

Oh man, that hits home for me lol. I did the exact same thing in Tokyo, just grabbing cabs everywhere until my budget was screaming. Finally tried the subway and it was a total game changer, way less stressful than I thought. It really does make you feel like you're part of the city instead of just watching it through a car window. Hope you have an awesome time in Lisbon figuring out their system!

victor7791mo ago

Wait you took cabs in Tokyo @margareto26? That's wild, those fares are no joke. I can't even imagine the bill, the subway there is so good. Glad you figured it out before going totally broke.