Sistema Integrado de Transporte Optibús
Bus rapid transit in León, Guanajuato, Mexico
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
SIT Optibús (officially Sistema Integrado de Transporte Optibús) is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system operating in León, Guanajuato, Mexico. Locally it is known also as "La Oruga" (the caterpillar), due to its use of articulated buses.
| Optibús | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
_(40814106565).jpg) An Optibús at Apolo station | |||
| Overview | |||
| Locale | León, Guanajuato | ||
| Transit type | Bus rapid transit | ||
| Number of lines | 10 | ||
| Number of stations | 65 | ||
| Daily ridership | 120,000[1] | ||
| Operation | |||
| Began operation | September 28, 2003 | ||
| Operator(s) | Transportistas Coordinados de León | ||
| Technical | |||
| System length | 40.45 mi (65.10 km) | ||
| |||
History
Most of the Optibús route uses city streets, but with dedicated bus lanes and high-level platform stations. The system was inaugurated on September 27, 2003 and cost a total of 1,405,700,000 pesos to implement.[1] León was the first city in Mexico to implement a BRT system.[2] The system is part of the integrated transit network for León and utilizes prepaid farecards (known as Pagobús), which can be used for every other bus route as well.[1]
In 2016, 58 Torino OH 1624/59 buses by Mercedes-Benz were acquired for the system.[2]
In 2019 and 2020, an app to improve the service was being planned, along with a purchase of 1,000 new buses, gates, and installing Wi-Fi and security cameras in each bus.[3][4]
Statistics
The Optibus accounts for 85% of trips taken on public transportation in León.[5] Daily ridership is around 120,000.[1] There were 17,200,123 riders in August 2024.[6] According to a 2024 study by the Mario Molina Center, León's public transportation system in ranked ninth place out of 32 systems in Mexico.[6]
Further reading
- Dodero, Abel Lopez; dos Santos da Rocha, Paula Manoela; Hernandez, Jose Juan; Cerezo, Aldo (2014-01-01). "Evaluating Improvements in Bus Rapid Transit in Mexico City, Mexico: How Feasible Is It to Improve a Consolidated System?". Transportation Research Record. 2451 (1): 88–96. doi:10.3141/2451-10. ISSN 0361-1981.
