Va y Ven
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| Sistema Metropolitano de Movilidad Amable y Sostenible Va-y-Ven | |
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| Overview | |
| Owner | Government of the State of Yucatán |
| Area served | Mérida, Umán and Kanasín |
| Transit type | Bus |
| Website | https://vayven.yucatan.gob.mx/ |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | 27 November 2021 |
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]
Social tariff on city buses
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 (green 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 card 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]
The 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 discounts
To 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:
- Green light: Indicates that you have misplaced the card or removed it while the validator detected it, so you will have to replace it for it to be charged. usually a message will appear saying "The card could not be detected, try again" (No se ha podido detectar la tarjeta, inténtelo de nuevo)
- Red light: If a red light appears when you paste the card, it is very possible that it is because you do not have enough balance on your card, this can be checked by looking at the screen, you should show a message with the legend "Insufficient balance" (Saldo Insuficiente). To board the unit, you will have to top up the card.
- Red light social fare: For the social farethere are 3 types of signals if the red light comes out when placing the card in the validator, in addition to the "Insufficient Balance". These cases can be:
- Fare about to expire: When processing your social tariff smart card, you must corroborate the expiration date, when the card is about to expire, the validator will accept the payments but will show a red light followed by two beeps (as if it were turning blue).
- Expired fare: After the expiration date, the validator will show a red light and a long beep will sound, this indicates that the card has lost validity and cannot be used again until you replace it at the Va y Ven offices, you will not be able to use it to pay since only the message "Expired" will appear on the validator screen. It is not necessary to take out a new card, when you take the expired card to the offices, it will be reactivated so as not to lose the balance you have in it.
- Rejected card: By placing the social tariff card in the validator, it will disable the possibility of using it again in the same unit. For example, if you get on the CM003 unit of the Metropolitan Circuit and pay with the social tariff card, you will not be able to use your social tariff again in the CM003 unit until the next day. This applies to all Va y Ven routes, including Night Routes. If you try to place the card in a unit where you have already paid with it previously, the payment will not go through and the validator will display a message with the legend "Declined" followed by a red light and a long beep.
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:
- When placing the general or social rate card in the validator, a 2-hour counter will begin, if during those two hours another Va y Ven unit is boarded, 50% of the rate will be deducted; If during the remaining time another unit is boarded, the trip will be free, but this will only apply to the third and fourth trip since after the fourth trip, you will be charged the fare established according to the card.
- The discount does not apply to the same unit, that is, if you swiped your card more than once in the same unit, the discount will not be made and the rate established according to the card will be charged.
Vehicle fleet
High-floor buses are used on the Va and Ven routes:
- Beccar Urviabus Low Entry Scania K250UB Euro 5 and Euro 6 (on the Peripheral Circuit)
- AYCO Metropolitan Scania K250UB Euro 6 (temporarily out of service)
- AYCO Metropolitan, Volvo B8R (Routes within the city and Airport Route), Mobility ADO, Mayan Bus Co (Routes Valladolid).
- Busscar Urbanuss Pluss S Mercedes-Benz O500 U 1928 BlueTec 5 / OH 1621 SB (Metropolitan Circuit), Minis 2000, Urbanos de Mérida, Corporativo Sirus, Líneas Urbe, Minibuses del poniente, Mobility ADO (Red Circuit - Periférico Express)
- Yutong ZK6106CHEVG Hybrid (Routes to the interior of the city and circuito comisarías) Mobility Mérida, Grupo COMI, Turismaya, Corporativo Sirus, CORPA (Tizimín routes)
- Yutong ZK6890HGQ (Circuito Comisarías) CORPA
- Nissan Urvan y Toyota Hiace (night services) service provided by FUTV units. .
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.
