Mexico City Metrobús
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Metrobús is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Mexico City, Mexico. It was officially opened to the public on 19 June 2005.
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[edit] Route
The first line covers a distance of some 20 kilometres, running in a dedicated bus-lane built against the central reservation of Avenida de los Insurgentes. Avenida Insurgentes is the city's main north-to-south arterial route, constitutes a section of the Pan-American Highway, and is reputed to be the longest urban avenue in the world. (The longest street in the world is Yonge Street in Toronto, Canada.)
This line starts at Metro Indios Verdes, a large multimodal transport node in the Gustavo A. Madero borough. From there it runs south, through Cuauhtémoc and Benito Juárez, before terminating in the San Ángel district of Álvaro Obregón borough, providing a total of 36 stations. It was built in two sections, with a split at Metro Insurgentes, the notional dividing point between the avenue's northern and southern stretches, just south of where Avenida Insurgentes intersects with Paseo de la Reforma.
On its route south from Indios Verdes, the Metrobús also connects with Metro stations at Deportivo 18 de Marzo, Potrero, La Raza, Buenavista, Revolución, Insurgentes, and Chilpancingo, providing connections with Lines 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 9. The proposed southward extension of Line 7 will also enable that line to connect at the Metrobús' southernmost station, Dr. Gálvez.
[edit] Before and after
The system replaced 372 standard buses and microbuses that served Insurgentes with 80 articulated buses that run at an average speed of 20km/hr. Doing so, travel times along the corridor are reduced by 50%.
[edit] Environmental impact
Besides addressing the bus service problem, the BRT Metrobús project emerged in the context of the city’s Air Quality Program Proaire 2002-2010. According to Metrobús, annual environmental benefits include a reduction of 35,400 tons of CO2, 9,700 tons of CO, 206 tons of NOx, and 1.27 tons of PM10.
[edit] Capacity and traffic
According to information from the Mexico City government published in April 2006, the Metrobús carries more than 260000 passengers daily.
[edit] Future expansion
Plans have also been floated for a second Metrobús line, running from west to east along Avenida Popocatépetl and Avenida Ermita Iztapalapa in the southern part of the city. This second line would probably connect with the Insurgentes Metrobús at its Río Churubusco stop.
[edit] Passenger access
Ticketing is by pre-paid proximity smartcard, which travellers have to pass through turnstiles at the entry to the separated bus platforms. During the early months of the system's operations, limited availability for the cards required a temporary method for access to the system involving purchasing a normal single-trip paper ticket at a cost of MXN $3.50 (about €0.26 or USD $0.33). Starting in October, 2005, and with smartcard supply able to cover the demand, access is done exclusively by using the card. An "empty" card can be purchased for $8.00 and "recharged" at the same cost of $3.50 per trip; optionally, for a $70.00 fee, a card with 20 trips can be purchased. The smartcard system has generated controversy, especially from sporadic users who complain about the $8.00 fee for an empty card.
[edit] List of Stations
- Indios Verdes
- Deportivo 18 de Marzo
- Euzkaro
- Potrero
- La Raza
- Circuito
- San Simón
- Manuel González
- Buenavista
- El Chopo - Tlatelolco
- Revolución - Metro Revolución
- Tabacalera
- Reforma
- Hamburgo
- Insurgentes - Metro Insurgentes
- Durango
- Álvaro Obregón
- Sonora
- Campeche
- Chilpancingo - Metro Chilpancingo
- Nuevo León
- La Piedad
- Poliforum
- Nápoles - World Trade Center
- Colonia del Valle
- Ciudad de los Deportes
- Parque Hundido - Parque Hundido
- Félix Cuevas
- Rio Churubusco
- Teatro Insurgentes
- José María Velasco
- Francia
- Olivo
- Altavista
- La Bombilla
- Dr. Gálvez - UNAM
[edit] External link
- Metrobús - In Spanish
