Cross-town bus routes as a solution for decentralized travel: A cost–benefit analysis of Monterrey, Mexico

Travel patterns have become more decentralized as employment has dispersed throughout metropolitan areas and has become less highly concentrated in central business districts (CBD). Decentralized travel patterns have led several transit authorities to complement traditional radial networks, where all transit routes radiate from the CBD, with cross-town transit routes from one suburb to another. The main characteristic of cross-town routes is that neither end of the bus line originates in the CBD. Peripheral cross-town routes totally bypass the CBD. The objective of this article is to use an urban transportation planning (UTP) model to simulate the productivity gains or losses in the transit system in Monterrey, Mexico following the introduction of 16 new cross-town routes. The study analyzes the financial productivity of the transit lines as well as their economic viability by measuring welfare gains and losses to bus users, automobile users and bus operators. Monterrey, capital city of the state of Nuevo Leone in Mexico, is used as a case study because it is typical of a large number of developing cities in many respects, particularly the high rates of growth in population and auto ownership, and the limited road capacity. Tripmakers, particularly those traveling to the CBD or passing through it, continue to face high and increasing levels of congestion. The following section provides a background of the bus routes in Monterrey both prior to the introduction of the cross-town routes and after their introduction. Section 2 provides a conceptual discussion of the nature of gains and losses associated with the new policy. Sections 3–5 present the methodology used, the simulation results and the conclusions, respectively.