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When traveling I am trying to avoid using the underground/metro/subway because I want to see the city I am visiting, but sometimes for long distances it is much quicker than any other form of transport.

So which city has the cheapest underground system? I'm looking for the cheapest available single fare price. It is okay if I have to use a pre-paid card as long as I can buy it right in the station.

On contender is Mexico City: Metro Prices in Mexico City in 2008

Photo credit: Peter Hahndorf

In 2008 the price for a single ride was 2 pesos or € 0.10 (US$ 0.15), it is now up to 3 pesos, but that is still very cheap.

pnuts
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Peter Hahndorf
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8 Answers8

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According to PriceOfTravel.com:

*all prices converted into US dollars in mid-November, 2010

Price ranges reflect shortest to longest rides in most cities. Tourists are most likely to pay the lowest price.

  • Caracas, Venezuela (metro, bus) $0.12 – $0.28
  • Cairo, Egypt (metro) $0.17
  • Delhi, India (metro) $0.18 – $0.66
  • La Paz, Bolivia (bus) $0.19 – $0.50
  • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (light rail, bus) $0.22 – $0.76
  • Marrakech, Morocco (bus) $0.24 – $0.61
  • Mexico City, Mexico (metro) $0.24
  • Panama City, Panama (bus) $0.25
  • Quito, Ecuador (bus) $0.25 – $0.35
  • Hong Kong, China (tram, ferry) $0.26 – $0.39
  • Buenos Aires, Argentina (bus, subway) $0.28 – $0.32
  • Beijing, China (subway) $0.30
  • Dakar, Senegal (bus) $0.31
  • Lima, Peru (bus) $0.36 – $0.64
  • Auckland, New Zealand (bus, train) $0.38 – $1.38
  • Macau, China (bus) $0.41 – $0.83
  • Shanghai, China (metro) $0.45 – $1.35
  • Cancun, Mexico (bus) $0.49
  • Taipei, Taiwan (metro, bus) $0.49 – $2.14
  • Bangkok, Thailand (skytrain, subway) $0.50 – $1.34
  • Singapore, Singapore (subway, light rail) $0.61 – $1.53
  • St. Petersburg, Russia (tram, bus, metro) $0.61 – $0.71
  • Cartagena, Colombia (bus) $0.64 – $0.80
  • Dubai, UAE (metro) $0.68 – $2.18
  • Montevideo, Uruguay (bus) $0.76
  • Sofia, Bulgaria (tram, bus, metro) $0.80
  • Phuket, Thailand (bus) $0.83, $1.17
  • Moscow, Russia (metro) $0.84
  • Krakow, Poland (bus, tram) $0.86
  • Seoul, South Korea (subway, bus) $0.89 – $1.77
  • Prague, Czech Republic (tram, bus, metro) $1.00 – $1.44
  • Santiago, Chile (metro, bus) $1.00 – $1.20
  • Istanbul, Turkey (tram, bus, metro, ferry) $1.03
  • Cape Town, South Africa (bus) $1.14
  • Lisbon, Portugal (tram, bus, metro) $1.16 – $3.97
  • New Orleans, USA (tram, bus) $1.25 – $1.50
  • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (metro, bus) $1.28 – $1.74
  • Budapest, Hungary (tram, bus, metro) $1.28 – $2.32
  • Athens, Greece (tram, bus, metro) $1.37
  • Madrid, Spain (metro, bus) $1.37
  • Monaco, Monaco (bus) $1.37
  • Rome, Italy (tram, bus, metro) $1.37
  • Tallinn, Estonia (bus, tram, trolley) $1.39 – $1.74
  • Dubrovnik, Croatia (bus) $1.48 – $1.85
  • Los Angeles, USA (bus, metro) $1.50
  • Chicago, USA (metro, bus) $1.54 - $1.73
  • Dublin, Ireland (tram, bus) $1.58 – $2.47
  • Nice, France (bus) $1.58
  • Tel Aviv, Israel (bus) $1.58
  • Washington DC, USA (metro) $1.60 – $5.00
  • Bruges, Belgium (bus) $1.64 - $2.74

I'll stop there, as they just get more expensive after that.

So according to this, Mexico City prices have gone up to US$0.24 now, so your best has now lost out to a few other cities, and now Caracas would probably take the prize.

Mark Mayo
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I'd like to add a second answer, because it's one that is cheaper but not generally accessible to do individually as a traveller.

"The Pyongyang Metro, in North Korea was designed to operate every few minutes. During the rush hours, the trains can operate at a minimum interval of 2 minutes.

It is also one of the cheapest in the world to ride, at only 5 KP₩ (about $0.03 USD) per ticket."

Mark Mayo
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Some Metros aren't on PriceOfTravel.com list. Others are out of date. The list has been updated since Mark Mayo's answer but still outdated again quickly:

Carl
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Also you can enjoy cheap transportation in Iran, Like:

  • $0.14 Tehran, Iran (Capital City)
  • $0.17 Shiraz, Iran
  • $0.08 Mashhad, Iran

Prices in March 2015.

Ali
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Using metro in Caracas (Venezuela) is for free now.

With sky-rocketing inflation, printing the tickets costed more than the ride so they made it free.

Rafał Sroka
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You can take the London Underground for free between terminal 5 and terminals 2/3 at Heathrow. You will need an oyster card or contactless payment card though.

Berwyn
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As of Jan 2018 exchange rate of USD-INR, Delhi Metro has lowest fare of just 10 rupees or 16 US cents which I think is the lowest or second lowest in the world. enter image description here

Rolen Koh
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A ride on the Tashkent Metro in Uzbekistan costs $0.18, so it's definitely one of the cheapest

Crazydre
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