New cable car cuts journey time by half for commuters in La Paz, Bolivia

Through its tinted windows, the red cabin affords passengers a spectacular view of the glacier-capped Andes mountains as it glides serenely out of Bolivia's administrative capital, La Paz.

It climbs almost 500 metres up to the cliff-edge city of El Alto, the world's highest major metropolis at an elevation of 4,150 metres.

It's a far cry from the blaring horns, smoke-belching buses and endless rivers of traffic that make up the usual rush hour for commuters travelling between the neighbouring cities, home to nearly two million people.

The region's new US$234 million cable-car system, which whisks passengers between sleek modern terminals in controlled silence, was given its first public outing this week.

When all three lines are running they will be able to transport 18,000 passengers an hour over nearly 11 kilometres, making it the longest urban cable-car system in the world. It's an innovation many Bolivians hope will turn their uncomfortable, seemingly interminable commute into a quick and modern ride.

Mariela Choque, 20, is one of tens of thousands who commute from El Alto down to La Paz every day. To arrive at her job in a La Paz cafe by 7am, she must wake well before dawn.

It is only 10 kilometres as the crow flies, but the winding traffic-clogged trip down the mountainside takes more than an hour.