The sidebar identifies Mexico City as the worst commuting city in the world in an IBM survey. I commuted recently for a year, eight miles each way, through the

The sidebar identifies Mexico City as the worst commuting city in the world in an IBM survey. I commuted recently for a year, eight miles each way, through the center of Mexico City. I went near or in rush hour each day. It was a pleasure every day. I rode the Metro. I rode the dedicated-lane bus rapid transit. I rode my bicycle. I never drove a car because I'm not stupid; I can see how the traffic is. People complain about four hour daily commutes just like in São Paulo, but in Mexico they're usually insisting on driving their cars when there's a perfectly good light rail, underground rail, dedicated lane bus rapid transit route, or commuter train route available. The city is laced with shorter van and minibus routes to help everyone connect to the transit backbones. Unfortunately it's more socially prestigious to drive two hours than relax forty minutes on the Metro with a book. It's probably a sign of incipient "neurodiversity" that I insisted on using the faster and more comfortable trains and bicycles even though I was a well-off foreigner who could afford to suffer in a car. I like the comment here that an underdeveloped country is one where the poor dream of owning a car and a developed country is one where the rich dream of living near a metro station. What São Paulo needs isn't less traffic. It's a lot more metro lines.