Mexico City’s Metrobús gearing up for more electromobility

Mexico City is considering expanding its Metrobús BRT system with two new lines and increasing its electric vehicle (EV) fleet with the addition of 38 new units.

Rosario Castro, general director of Metrobús, told BNamericas that the new fleet additions will be announced in the coming days.

"We take advantage of the moment when older units reach the end of their life cycle to replace them with electric-powered ones," she said on the sidelines of the Mexico EV Day forum, organized by local association AMIVE.

"We’re preparing to have 38 units in operation on lines No. 2 and No. 5. We expect to accomplish this by the end of the year," she added.

Currently, the Metrobús system operates seven lines covering a total of 164km with 280 stops. It involves 850 vehicles that transport close to 1.8 million passengers per day. The system is managed by 17 operating companies and is financed through a trust funded by user fares.

The local government began planning the transition to EVs in 2019. The first electric buses, manufactured by Yutong and Volvo, were introduced in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Mexico City initially deployed them on lines No. 3 and No. 4 as part of a six-month pilot program, which then-mayor Claudia Sheinbaum described as the first step towards fully electrifying the Metrobús fleet.

By September 2021, an additional nine Yutong units were added to line No. 3, followed by 50 more in 2023. As of February 2024, the system had 55 EVs, all purchased and operated by private contractors.

According to Castro, Chinese EV brands have proven to be highly competitive in procurement processes.

"We ensure that our specific technical requirements are met, and we always look for the best price," she said, adding, "Chinese brands have been very competitive, but we remain open to any manufacturer capable of meeting the system’s needs."

The charging infrastructure for the 2021 pilot program was leased from utility company Engie, with the costs covered by the operator MIVSA. The pilot showed that the EVs used approximately 0.92kWh/km, or about 44% of their battery capacity, during a 19-hour operating day.

The introduction of EVs also led Metrobús to extend the operating concessions to 15 years from 10 years to give contractors more time to recoup their investments in the new units. Currently, the system's charging infrastructure is leased from Enel X.

Castro highlighted that the switch to EVs has resulted in 30% savings in maintenance costs, with the total cost of ownership being 33% lower than that of diesel-powered units.

Route expansion

In March, Mexico City mayor-elect Clara Brugada announced plans to revive a project to add two more Metrobús lines, an initiative originally proposed by Sheinbaum.

The first line, known as Line 0, would run along the Circuito Interior inner beltway and the north-south Patriotismo and Revolución avenues, while the second line would run on the Periférico beltway from the Cuatro Caminos hub in the west of the capital to Alameda Oriente near the Mexico City international airport in the east of the city.

According to news outlet Latinus, the city spent 19.4mn pesos (US$1mn) in 2021 on pre-construction studies for the two lines, although the project did not advance during Sheinbaum's term as mayor.

"These are projects we began working on with Claudia Sheinbaum and we will be reviewing them and providing more details in the coming days," Castro told BNamericas.