Personal Safety
The country ranked ninety-ninth globally on the Legatum Institute’s Safety and Security Sub-Index (2014) out of 142 countries studied. Legatum also found that 57 percent of the country’s residents said they felt safe walking at night, lower than the global average of about 61 percent. Nearly 22 percent said they have had property stolen, compared with the worldwide average of 16.5 percent.
Mexico’s homicide rate also is one of the highest in the world with an average of 21.5 reported homicides per 100,000 people, far higher than the 4.7 per 100,000 in the U.S. (World Health Organization 2012). Residents who say they have been assaulted in the last year, about 13 percent, is twice the global average, according to the Legatum Institute.
Additional personal safety information is available at the U.S. Department of State’s website.
Transportation
Airlines
The World Economic Forum (2014) ranked Mexico’s air transport infrastructure quality sixty-third out of 144 countries. The country’s largest airport is the Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de Mexico (AICM) in Mexico City, which serves over 26 million people a year and is the forty-fourth largest airport in the world. Most impressively, Mexico has 1,724 airports throughout the country, the third highest in the world. AeroMexico, United, US Airways, Delta, Alaska and American have the most flights from the U.S. to Mexico.
Highways
Mexico’s quality of roads is ranked fifty-second by the World Economic Forum (2014). Major national interstate highway quality is generally good throughout Mexico. Roads are also good around popular tourist areas. Rural area roads are rougher and are often unpaved. Multi-lane expressways often have narrow lanes and steep shoulders, so drivers unfamiliar with the roads should be cautious.
The U.S. Bureau of Consular Affairs strongly recommends using toll roads in Mexico rather than free roads, due to the threat of highway assaults. As in the United States, drivers drive on the right side of the road. Road signs are in Spanish with distances indicated in kilometers. Speed limits are 110 km/h on major highways and 90 km/h on two lane roads.
Your U.S. driver’s license will be valid in Mexico, but If you decide to get a Mexican driver’s license, you will need to take a written test and a driving test at your local Transito office.
Buses
Mexico has an extensive bus system. Bus services are divided into three categories: Luxury, first-class and second-class. The luxury buses are the most expensive, but the most comfortable, fit with television monitors and reclining seats. First-class buses are most commonly used in larger cities and are kept well maintained with basic amenities such as air conditioning. Second-class buses are used in smaller cities, often overcrowded and make frequent stops. Interstate bus lines serve different geographical areas and connect most cities in Mexico. Depending on distance traveled, bus fares are still relatively inexpensive, compared with the U.S.
Trains
Mexico is in the process of reviving passenger rail service throughout the country. New intercity rail projects are planned to link Mexico City and Toluca and cities on the Mayan Riviera in the Yucatán Peninsula. Construction of a new high-speed rail line between Mexico City and Querétaro also is planned and will be expanded to provide service between Guadalajara, Puebla, Tlaxcala and Mexico City.
Mexico City is served by a metro rail system that includes all municipalities within the state of Mexico. It is the second largest metro system in North America after New York City. Monterrey also has a metro rail system and Guadalajara operates a light rail system.
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