section_path: Transportation
section_name: Transportation
paragraph_text: Transportation
  
  Santo Domingo has an underground and elevated rapid transit metro system. It is the most extensive metro in the Caribbean and Central American region by total length and number of stations. The Santo Domingo Metro is part of a major "National Master Plan" to improve transportation in the city as well as the rest of the nation. The first line was planned to relieve traffic congestion in the Máximo Gómez and Hermanas Mirabal Avenue. The second line, which opened in April 2013, is meant to relieve the congestion along the Duarte-Kennedy-Centenario Corridor in the city from west to east. As of August 2013, the metro consists of these two lines. Four more lines are planned to be constructed in the near future, for a total of six. Before the opening of the second line, 30,856,515 passengers rode the Santo Domingo Metro in 2012. According to government figures more than 300,000 people ride the 31 kilometer system on a daily basis.
  
  In 2018, a 5-kilometer Teleférico de Santo Domingo (aerial cable car) was opened to provide service to the poorest areas in the east and north of the metropolitan area, and serve as a feeder for the metro. The cable car is used by more than 12,000 people daily.
  
  Santo Domingo is served by two airports. Aeropuerto Internacional La Isabela, an early 21st century-constructed airport located in the northern section of the city, within kilometers of the city center. It served mostly domestic and charter flight but now has several international flights. The major international airport that serves the city is Santo Domingo Las Americas, which serves North, Central and South America and also Europe.
  
  The Port of Santo Domingo is located on the Ozama River. Its location at the center of the Caribbean is well suited for flexible itinerary planning and has excellent support, road and airport infrastructure within the Santo Domingo region, which facilitate access and transfers. The port is suitable for both turnaround and transit calls.
  
  The port's renovation is part of a major redevelopment project, aimed at integrating the port area and the Zona Colonial and foster a cruise, yacht, and high-end tourism destination. Supported by legislation approved in 2005, the project, developed by the Sans Souci Group, also includes the development of a new sports marina and a 122-acre (0.49 km 2) mixed-leisure real estate development adjacent to the port.
  
  Santo Domingo is the terminus for four of the five national highways. The city is connected to the southwest of the country by the national highway DR-2 (Avenida George Washington and Autopista 30 de Mayo), and with the cities of the country's northwest by DR-1 (Expreso Kennedy, Corredor Duarte), which serves as a direct link to the city of Santiago de los Caballeros. DR-3 (Expreso 27 de Febrero/Autopista de Las Américas) connects Santo Domingo directly to the east of the country, including the cities of San Pedro de Macorís, La Romana, and major tourist sites such as Punta Cana and Bávaro, and to the Samaná Province (in the northeast) via the Samana Highway. In the city, motoconchos (motorcycle taxis), guaguas / voladoras (low quality public buses), and carros públicos / conchos (shared taxis) are common modes of transport. The Santo Domingo Metro is the highest quality in the region of the Caribbean and Central America. It is composed of 2 lines that cross the city.