Medellin, Colombia - Transport

Top Class
Medellin, built in a valley surrounded by mountains, was once relatively small.  In the 80s and 90s, hundreds of thousands of rural migrants, displaced by the civil war, fled the countryside and built whole makeshift neighborhoods on the hillsides surrounding the city.   The public transport system adapted ingeniously.  In the valley, there is an elevated subway line.

We used the subway every day, buying ourselves a ten ride card for about 8 dollars.

We took it to the Botero museum, which is downtown, about 5 stops east of our apartment.  There are two lines, one running north to south and another running east to west.

The stations are clean and comfortable.

They use humor in their advertisements - this one says "Don't run, love may arrive on the next train."

At every station there are attendants who speak multiple languages and seem to be able to read your face when you're lost.  They step right up to you and offer to help you out.  If only they had this in other subway systems.

The riders have good manners for the most part.  Everyone walks into the center of the trains, doesn't eat or make a lot of noise and lets you get off when the door opens.

In addition to the two subway lines, there are street-level trams.

There are also bike share stations all over the city, many near the metro stops.  Colombian citizens can use the bikes for free, visitors can rent for a small fee.

I was most impressed by their approach to the hillsides.  Rather than trains or buses or trams, they built gondolas.  They spread out from the metro like spiderwebs.

At the stations, you jump into a pod and take off, up thousands of feet into the hillsides.