Va y Ven
The Va y Ven Metropolitan System of Friendly and Sustainable Mobility (Sistema Metropolitano de Movilidad Amable y Sostenible Va y Ven, also known as Va y Ven (Come and Go), is a public transportation and urban mobility system in the state of Yucatán, Mexico. It is managed and operated by the Government of the State of Yucatán, which offers urban bus services in the cities of Mérida, Valladolid, Tekax, Tizimín, and Umán.[1] It was inaugurated on November 27, 2021, as a replacement for the Integral Urban Transport System (SITUR; Sistema Integral de Transporte Urbano), this system being replaced in its entirety on January 3, 2023.[2] Rates, payment systems, and service hours![]() ![]() The Va y Ven public transport payment system is carried out using rechargeable smart cards that are recognized by electronic readers known as validators that are arranged on each bus. The general rate is 12 Mexican pesos, and the social rate for students and seniors is 5 pesos, while for people with disabilities it has no cost. General fare cards can be used to pay for multiple users at once, while social cards can only be used to pay for one trip per person and once per unit. The general fare smart cards (blue cards) can be purchased at the Va y Ven ATMs, which are located near all the stops of the Peripheral Ring, at the Palacio de la Música and at the TAME terminal of ADO in the historic center of the city of Mérida. These have a cost of 25 pesos. During the first 3 months of the program's service, these were delivered free of charge.[3] Social rate smart cards (yellow) are exclusive to students who are at least 6 years old, and to senior citizens. These can be purchased at the Va y Ven offices located on 39th Street with Reforma Avenue by delivering the required documentation, which consists of proof of address and INE for older adults, students must attach a proof of studies and CURP in case they are still minors. They have a free issuance cost if it is the first time it is processed, but in case the user loses it or its validity ends, its replacement will cost 65 Mexican pesos.[4] The validity of the social rate for students can vary depending on the type of school system, older adults and primary and secondary students can process their social rate card with one year of validity, on the other hand, high school and university students can process it with a value of 6 months (if the school system is semester) or 4 months (if the school system is four-monthly) to verify the expiration day specific to the card, must be attached to the validator located in the main aisle, where the exact expiration date can be corroborated. Social rate smart cards for people with disabilities, a white card (tarjeta blanca), are exclusively for people who have a physical or mental disability, these can be processed at the Va y Ven offices located on Calle 39 with Reforma Avenue by delivering the requested documentation that consists of a proof of address, INE and a certificate of the CREE to be able to process it. It has a free issuance cost if it is the first time it is processed, but in case the user loses it or its validity ends, its replacement will cost 65 pesos. This is valid for one year. Fares on Va y Ven buses and Night Route combis cannot be paid in cash; they only accept payments through the smart card. The balance of the cards can be checked at the aforementioned ATMs, and recharged at these ATMs, as well as at the OXXO, Dunosusa Groceries, Super AKI, Willys and YZA Pharmacies convenience stores. The routes have an operating schedule from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. The opening hours of the Va y Ven offices are from Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.[5] Social tariff on city busesThe social tariff smart card of the Va y Ven system (yellow for younger and older passengers, and white for passengers with disabilities) can be used on vehicles that do not belong to the Va y Ven system to access the social tariffs established by the Institute of Mobility and Territorial Urban Development (Instituto de Movilidad y Desarrollo Urbano Territorial, IMDUT). To do this, the user must place the card in the unit's validator when boarding the bus (as if he were going to pay with the card) and must wait for the validator to authorize the validation, this will happen when it turns on a blue light. The validators of these trucks do not deduct any amount of money from the card. In case the unit does not have a validator or it does not work, the card must be shown to the driver or the camera (if the unit has a camera) to validate the fare. In the city's buses that do not belong to the Va y Ven system, the general rate is 12 pesos, while the rate for seniors and students is 5 pesos, paid for by presenting the Va y Ven yellow smart card. Meanwhile, riders with disabilities can board for free, as long as they show their credential when boarding. Buses with weather and some agencies (Climabús of the Alianza de Camioneros de Yucatán, A.C.Y or buses of the Rápidos de Mérida) do not accept the social rate. The student rate is not valid on Sundays, holidays and during the Easter, summer and December holidays, so when boarding the units you will not be able to access the social rate even if the card is shown on routes not incorporated into the Va y Ven. The social rate is valid 365 days a year on the routes incorporated into the Va y Ven. Electronic payment by smart card and travel discountsTo make the electronic payment with the Va y Ven card successfully, the card must be placed in the validator of the unit when boarding it, and it must be left there until it shows a blue light and the type of fare, the amount that was deducted and the balance that remains available on your card appears on the screen. It is important that the card has the exact amount to pay or more so that you can board the unit, in addition to the general fare card, you can pay for the trip of the people you want as long as you have the necessary balance. Social fare cards only allow the user once per trip per unit. If sticking the card to the validator does not turn on the blue light, try removing the card, wait a few seconds, and try again. It is possible that a light of different colors may still flash:
The general and social fare cards have exclusive discounts for users who use the Va y Ven units (with the exception of the Airport Route). The discounts work as follows:
Vehicle fleetHigh-floor buses are used on the Va and Ven routes:
In the future for the renewal of more routes units such as Yutong Urban Diesel, Irizar Ie-Tram, Yutong Hybrids, Volvo Access, Yutong Electric Articulated, Kinglong Electric Minibus, Yutong Electric 12m and Mercedes-Benz have been chosen. Routes and servicesAirport, Downtown Hotels and CIC Route (Route 701)The airport service connects different areas near the city center of Mérida with the Mérida International Airport. This has a rate of 12 pesos for the social rate and 45 pesos for the general rate.[6] It can only be approached at the established stops, which are:
The schedule of this route is every day from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Night RoutesIt is a service that has 14 night routes so that the population has public transport service from Monday to Saturday from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and Sundays until 1:00 a.m.[7] Instead of using buses as transportation, they use F.U.T.V. vans with the Palacio de la Música de Mérida as their main base, these can stop and take them at any corner as long as they are within the established route. The 14 routes are
Information on details of each route can be requested from the smartphone app "Va y Ven" This has a cost of $15 pesos for the general fare and $5 pesos for the social fare and transfers apply. Ie-Tram YucatánThe IE-TRAM is a bus rapid transit system with electric units, which connect Kanasín and Umán with Mérida and more than 137 neighborhoods.[8] Circuito PeriféricoThe service allows for fast, time- and money-saving trips to different parts of the city's periphery without having to go through the Historic Center, connecting more than 120 nearby neighborhoods and their 104 transportation routes.[9] In total it has 40 stops and two ways of travel, outside (counterclockwise) and inside (clockwise). The 40 stops around the ring road are:
The schedule of this route is every day from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. This has a cost of $12 pesos for the general rate and $5 pesos for the social rate. City routesThese are the services that will gradually replace most of the common routes within the city of Mérida, connecting various neighborhoods with the historic center of the city of Mérida. All have a cost of $12 pesos for the general rate and $5 pesos for the social rate. and they have a schedule every day from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. In addition, some have transfer stops with Night Routes, that is, their route connects with Night Routes. The routes that currently exist are: North Zone
West Zone
South Zone
East Zone
Express RoutesAs part of the activation of the confined lanes on Aviación Avenue and Benito Juárez, the State Agency of Yucatán (Agencia Estatal de Yucatán, ATY) has decided to create a series of express routes of various Va y Ven routes that will run through the confined lanes and connect with lines 4 and 5 of the Ie-tram to Umán and the Airport route. All of them have a cost of $12 pesos for the general rate and $5 pesos for the social rate, they have a schedule every day from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., they make the same route as the normal routes, but they have fewer stops and wider distances, this in order to speed up travel times.
Police station circuitsA series of new routes that connect different police stations in Mérida and Progreso with each other and with routes in the interior of the city
Red Circuit (Route 703)This new route was incorporated on November 4, connecting the east with the south-west of Mérida. This route can be considered a transversal circuit since it does not reach the center, starting from the Transportation Directorate and arriving at the Pacabtún Sports Unit. It has connection and transfers with Night Routes, Western Circuit, squares and universities, Peripheral Circuit, Downtown - Umán and with the Metropolitan Circuit. It has 115 stops. Their fee is $12 pesos for the general rate and $5 pesos for the student rate. Some stops include
Metropolitan CircuitThis is the improvement of the Metropolitan Circuit that had been previously implemented since November 25, 2005 at the hands of the agency of the same name, later of SITUR and currently of the Va y Ven system. It has a service that goes from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. from Monday to Sunday, with the Meliton Salazar park being its last stop and base. It has two ways of traveling, clockwise and counterclockwise, both with the same final base. It has 261 stops throughout the metropolitan area of Mérida, covering 231 neighborhoods and subdivisions, and with a maximum distance of 500 meters between each one (250 walkable meters), this so that transportation is faster and less delayed, with a waiting time of 15 minutes between each unit. The rate for this circuit is $12 pesos for the general rate and for the first time it has a social rate, which consists of $5 pesos. Some stops include:
Western, Squares, and Universities Circuit (Route 702)The Western Squares and Universities Circuit (Circuito Poniente, Plazas y Universidades) has recently been incorporated into the Va y Ven system, thus ending the SITUR-era division that existed between "Western and Squares Circuit" and "Western Circuit, Squares and Universities" previously of, which will now become a single route (Western Circuit, Squares and Universities) that starts from the Directorate of Transportation and reaches the University Campus of the UADY covering 160 neighborhoods along its route and connecting 90 routes public transport. It has 30 buses and a waiting time of 6 minutes between each one, working from Monday to Sunday from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. It also has select stops and transfers with Night Routes, Metropolitan Circuit and Peripheral Circuit. It costs $12 pesos for the general rate and $5 pesos for the social rate Selected stations include:
Interior of the state![]() On 11 May 2024, the first Va y Ven routes outside the metropolitan area of Mérida were implemented. It began operations in the cities of Valladolid, Tizimín and Tekax. Valladolid
Tizimín
See alsoReferences
Information related to Va y Ven |