Mass transit clears the air in Mexico City

Mexico City hasn’t had the best record when it comes to air quality. The Mexico City Metrobús program has set out to cut the city’s carbon emissions and encourage residents to use public transit.

The city has a history of traffic nightmares created by “peseros,” or privately owned taxis or minibuses. Many of them were ancient gas guzzlers that offered a cheap rate and a speedy ride to residents. An obvious cause of carbon emissions, the government wanted a simple way to take them off the road or offer smarter ways to get around the sprawling capital. The push for more responsible transportation is part of Mexico City's Climate Action Plan that aims to make them the most eco-conscious and sustainable city in the world.

Instead of going it alone, city leaders worked with non-profits and well known foundations. Mexican non-profit CEIBA, EMBARQ - The World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable Transport, the World Bank, Caterpillar Foundation, Shell Foundation, and the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation were all involved.

The Mexico City Metrobús, a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, started in 2005 and has expanded to a 50 kilometer service range. Each Metrobús uses clean-burning ultra low sulfur diesel fuel and services nearly 450,000 residents daily. The buses also have separate lanes from other cars which shrinks travel time by 40%. The benefits of the Metrobús system are certainly impressive. Almost 800 minibuses were taken off the road, annual emissions cut by 80,000 tons, and it makes the city $8.2 million a year.

As Mexico City looks to expand their public transportation efforts they’ve also picked up a major accolade worthy of their collaborative efforts. The Metrobús system won the John F. Kennedy School of Government 2009 Roy Family Award for Environmental Partnership. The award honors “an outstanding public-private partnership project that enhances environmental quality through the use of novel and creative approaches,” something they’ve certainly done well.