My New Route

Just a short walk from my apartment on Insurgentes Avenue is a Metrobus stop.  Other than walking, the Metrobus is my lifeline to get to the rest of the city.  For quite a while my usual route for going downtown would be to take Metrobus Line 1 up Insurgentes to the "Revolución" stop.  From there I would walk a short distance to the subway which I would take the rest of the way.  Line 1 of the Metrobus is a very long line, and a very busy one.  Usually I would try to take the bus around 10:00 after morning rush hour had subsided.  It would not be too crowded.  Sometimes I would even have a seat.  But at other times it could be crammed like a can of sardines.

At the end of my last trip to Mexico City, I learned a new way to go downtown.  I realized that my stop is along a short stretch of Insurgentes that is also served by Line 2 before it veers eastward.  Since my stop is only the third one along that line, it is rarely crowded when I get on, and I can usually sit down.  I take that line until I get to a stop called "Etiopía".  (Why that stop is named after an African nation, I do not know.)  There I can cross the street and go over to the stop of the same name which is on Line 3.  It's the beginning of the line, so the bus is empty at that point.  Seating assured!  Line 3 will take me all the way downtown.

However, there is now one fly in the ointment.   The "Etiopía" stop on Line 3 is now closed.  I assume that the reason for that is this...

This government building next to the bus stop was heavily damaged in the earthquake.

The building has been vacated, and the street between the building and the bus stop has been closed also.  Is there fear that the structure might suddenly collapse?  I hope not, since thousands of pedestrians are passing by it daily, and the buildings next to it are still occupied.

Anyway, because that stop is closed, I now have to walk a few blocks down the avenue to the next bus stop, a stop with the rather Marxist-sounding name of "Obrero Mundial" (Worker of the World).

"Obrero Mundial" is, for the time being, the beginning of the line... so I am still assured a seat.  I ride the line until I get to stop near the Alameda Park, in the heart of downtown.  There is also a stop which will prove to be convenient near my favorite handicrafts market.

And how is the ride going back?  Yesterday I returned at the beginning of rush hour, and surprisingly I had a seat on both segments of the journey!