MEXICO CITY - They’re gone. The green/white Volkswagen Beetle taxicabs that have provided transportation to millions of Mexico City residents, and terrified untold numbers of foreign visitors, have disappeared from the streets of this massive metropolis.

For many years, the cute but worrisome little Beetles scooted around the city, hustling passengers through the streets for a price well below that of “hotel” or radio taxis. Most of them were wholly legitimate, but an unknown number were not, As a result, horror stories of passengers being robbed and even beaten, often in remote locations by confederates of the unauthorized driver, kept most new arrivals in a state of fright at the prospect of hailing one of the illicit cabs on the street. Other cabs also were involved in attacks on tourists and businesspeople, but the Beetles endured nearly all the bad publicity,

Now, the Mexico City government has finally made good on its often-stated promise to do something about the gypsy Beetles. On today’s streets, nearly every taxi - including the few remaining Beetes - is now painted an uninspired two-tone brown. The only green/white Beetles that might be spotted have been relieved of their taxi lights and official numbers, evidently bought up as much-used cars by ordinary motorists seeking cheap private transportation.

Are the new brown/white cabs safer to hail on the street, or at an impromptu taxi line, than the old, brighter Beetles? That’s difficult to say at this point, but prudence dictates following the old familiar rules about avoiding taxis that turn up on the street. If you must take a taxi and an official “hotel” or radio taxi cannot be found or called on the phone, better to take one that’s standing at the curb so you can at least get a look at the driver and the cab’s numbers, to appraise what you’re getting into before making a serious error of judgment. No point being petrified, but it pays to exercise good sense. "Hotel" and radio taxis, incidentally, typically are unmarked; they look just like any passenger car.

One another change greets the arriving visitor these days. Mexico City’s Metro - the comprehensive network of 11 subway lines (many of which run above ground in outlying areas) now costs a whopping three pesos! That’s about 24 cents, including as many transfers as you like, which still makes Mexico City’s layout the cheapest major subway system in the world. The fare had been two pesos for so many years, it seemed impossible that it would ever change.

The old rules still apply to subway-riding. Watch out for pickpockets, in particular, and don’t carry visible valuables of any kind. Skip it during rush hours, too, mainly because of the frightful crowds. At other times, though, the Metro remains a quick and easy way to get around this immense, and immensely-populated, city.

Though immediately noticeable, those two changes are minor compared to the overall tone of the city. That hasn’t changed a bit. Despite all the construction that’s taken place, destroying or remodeling plenty of old hotels, restaurants and businesses, Mexico City is still one of the most character-packed metropolises in the world. Anyone who’s visited here before and loved its mix of historic relevance, breathtaking beauty, diversity and - most of all - sense of near-constant excitement is sure to feel right at home again.

Not as many folks are finding that out, though. Without question, fewer gringos are on the streets these days. Spot a couple or individual who appear to be foreign, and now there’s a high probability that when they cross your path, those who look like extranjeros (foreigners) are speaking Spanish.

For instance, while enjoying a blues rock concern one weekend afternoon in the popular Alameda Park, more than a thousand people must have passed the spot where we were standing. Not one appeared to be anything other than Latin American. Nearly everywhere else we went in the city, the dearth of foreign visitors was unmistakable.

Mexico City, like the country as a whole, has suffered a substantial decline in tourism. Shrinkage in the number of visitors is due to both the overall global economic picture and to tales of dangers south of the border - especially those due to drug trafficking in northern portions of the Mexican nation. Anyone who’s seen those stories of beheadings and horrific assaults is likely to think twice about making a plane reservation southward.

Folks who are really worried should probably stay away, or limit their travels to the well-worn tourist-resort paths on the Gulf and Pacific Coasts. For others, Mexico - and especially Mexico City - are waiting to provide the kind of adventurous days, where even the most humdrum task develops a patina of exhilaration, for which this region has long been known.

Evidence of the concern isn’t hard to spot, though. Mexico City’s Centro Historico (central historic district) has a considerably greater police presence than it used to - though many of the observing officers are actually private security guards, hired by hotels, restaurants and businesses to signal wrongdoers that they’re being noticed. Doubtless most importantly, they give potential customers an extra dose of ease if they pass through the entry doors.

For first-time visitors, and those who need a refresher course in the city’s delights, nothing beats the double-decker Turibuses that cruise the tourist-enticing areas of the central city. Like those in other cities around the world, the Turibus lets you get off and on as often as you like after buying a day’s ticket (currently 125 pesos, or $10, on weekdays, and 145 pesos on weekends). Past Turibus users should be pleased to learn that in addition to the basic Tour, which stretches from the Zocalo (massive main square) through Alameda Park, the Zona Rosa, and the neighborhoods of Polanco and Condesa and into sprawling Chapultupec Park, two other choices now are offered for the same all-day-long price. Tour 2 takes visitors toward the southwest, into San Angel and Coyoacan - where the Frida Kahlo Museum remains a popular attraction. New for 2010 is a Bicentennial Tour, which includes sections a little bit to the north the main tour.

Partly due to the dip in tourist business, some surprising hotel rates can be found, especially on the Internet but also when inquiring in person. Special rates often are available for the Hotel Majestic, a famed hostelry that faces the Zocalo, with the monumental Cathedral on its left and the National Palace facing the square on the side opposite from the Majestic. Countless moviemakers have used the Majestic’s top-floor restaurant, with its windowless wall facing the Zocalo, to show views of the square from a seventh-story perspective. All day long, most of the time, the Zocalo is filled with people and performances, though on this visit half of the space was closed off for construction of an evidently temporary structure for a specific upcoming event.

Just a few blocks away, the nearly-as-legendary Hotel Isabel, another old colonial-style lodging place, has rooms that start at a budget-friendly 250 pesos ($20) per night, for a single room. Ceilings in the Hotel Isabel are some 20 feet tall, and you’ll spot peeling paint and cracked trim here and there. Otherwise, the Isabel offers much of the character of the Majestic for a small fraction of the price. The downstairs restaurant also has tasty, reasonably-priced meals - especially the daily comica corrida (set menu). An interior room is sure to be quieter at night, but outside rooms facing the streets will be lighter - at least during the day.

Note: Additional details on today’s Mexico City will be posted soon.