The government of Mexico City, following four years of collaboration and planning with various partners, celebrated the start of service on Line 3 of its Metrobús system. The 20.4-kilometer (12.7-mile) bus rapid transit (BRT) route becomes the first in Latin America to operate using 100 percent electric articulated buses.
The 18-meter (59-foot) buses can accommodate 10 passengers and can operate up to 330 kilometers (205.1 miles) on a single change. The vehicles take 3.5 hours to recharge, which will take place overnight to prepare the vehicles for operation the next day. Mexico City’s Jupiter Protection Yard has a total of 32 chargers ready to keep the buses charged and in operation.
Line 3 opened in 2011, and it is one of seven Metrobús lines that span nearly 87 miles. Nine years after its opening, plans began to develop that would put Metrobús on a path to transition to a fully zero-emission fleet by 2035.
The first electric articulated bus, as well as a charger, arrived at Metrobús in September 2020. Nine articulated buses and six additional chargers were received and tested a year later, with results determining Line 3 would be transformed into an electric BRT corridor. Movilidad Integral de Vanguardia (MIVSA), the operator of the line, was provided financing to acquire 50 of the electric articulated vehicles by Banco Santander México in late summer 2022.
In addition to MIVSA, the government of Mexico City collaborated with several entities leading up to the launch of and electric Line 3, including CFE, Metrobús, VEMO, ENEL, financial institutions such as IDB, World Bank, Nafin, Santander, KFW, ENEL and VEMO, as well as experts from UNAM, the ZEBRA initiative, UITP, SUSTENTAR, CFE, SEMARNAT and the Mexico Ministry of Economy.
