The Mexico City Metrobús (former official name Sistema de Corredores de Transporte Público de Pasajeros del Distrito Federal), simply known as Metrobús, is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system that has served Mexico City since line 1 opened on 19 June 2005. As of February 2018, it consists of seven lines that cross the city and connects with other forms of transit, such as the Mexico City Metro. The most recent line to open was line 7, running for the first time double-decker buses along the city's iconic boulevard, Paseo de la Reforma.
In 2016, Metrobús carried on average 1,152,603 passengers on weekdays.
Impact
Line 1 replaced 372 standard buses and microbuses that served Avenida de los Insurgentes with 212 articulated buses that run at an average speed of , doing as maximum. Doing so, travel times along the corridor were reduced up to 50%.
Besides addressing the bus service problem, the Metrobús project emerged in the context of the city's efforts to reduce air pollution with a program called Proaire 2002–2010. According to Metrobús, annual environmental benefits include a reduction of of carbon dioxide, of carbon monoxide, of NOx, and of PM10 particulates.
The BRT-corridor Line 3 is going to become fully electric in the course of 2023. This will reduce air pollution and enhance climate protection
Passenger access and payment
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 of the cards required a temporary method for access to the system involving purchasing a normal single-trip paper ticket at a cost of MXN$4.50. Starting in October 2005, and with smartcard supply able to cover the demand, access is done exclusively by using the card.
As of 2022, the single-trip cost is MXN$6.00 (USD$). A new MB smartcard, preloaded with one voyage, can be purchased for MXN$15.00 and "recharged" for MXN$6.00 per trip. There is a supplemental fee of MXN$30.00 for trips to or from the airport.
The smartcard system has generated controversy, especially from occasional and one-time users who complain about the MXN$15.00 fee for a single-voyage card, for this is common that sometimes people ask others who have the smartcard to charge for them a trip.
Service is free for those over 70 years old, or disabled, as well as for children under 5 accompanied by an adult.
Lines and hours
Line 1
The 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 La Joya district of Tlalpan borough, providing a total of 45 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.
The first line covers a distance of up to , running in a dedicated bus lane built within the central reservation (median) of Avenida de los Insurgentes. Avenida Insurgentes is one of the city's main north–south arterial routes, constitutes a section of the Pan-American Highway, and is reputed to be the longest urban avenue in the world.
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 Metro Lines 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 9. The proposed southward extension of Mexico City Metro Line 7 will also enable that line to connect at the Metrobús' original southernmost station, Doctor Gálvez.
The first metrobus service began along the northernmost portion of Line 1 on 19 June 2005. Initial service was from Metro Indios Verdes south to Metro Insurgentes. This was quickly followed by a southward expansion from Metro Insurgentes to MB station Doctor Gálvez, bringing the line length up to . Many of the stations along Line 1 feature cantilevered glass canopies designed by architect Carlos Monge.
The original Line 1 was expanded with the inclusion of nine new stations in order to achieve full coverage of Avenida Insurgentes. The southward expansion of service along Line 1 started service on 13 March 2008 and brought the line's length up to .