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Mexico City and its chaotic public transport

Mexico City is affected by insecurity, street vendors, mobility issues, and anarchic growth

The Indios Verdes bus station is one of the most chaotic areas in the city - Photo: Fernando Ramírez/EL UNIVERSAL
27/08/2019 |08:16
Redacción El Universal
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Mexico City

authorities know which areas of the city are affected by insecurity , street vendors, poverty, mobility, anarchic growth, among other issues. Therefore, taking action in these areas in order to eradicate these issues is a matter of disposition and interest.

One of the most problematic places in the city is the Indios Verdes bus station . Every day, 950,000 users use the station to board one of the 6,000 units, the metro , the Metrobús , or the Mexibús ; also, in a few months, there will be a new Mexibús route and a new cable car . As a result, the number of users will increase to 1,500,000. Another factor that sparks chaos are the 1,000 street vendors .

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Mexico City

's government is creating a plan to bring order to the bus station . During previous administrations, local governments made similar promises to remodel other locations where public transport comes together, some promises were fulfilled but some weren't. Nevertheless, the most problematic areas, Cuatro Caminos, Pantitlán, and Indios Verdes , were ignored.

In previous administrations, local governments relied on public-private contracts to remodel these areas. That scheme was criticized by some organizations because they said it only privileged the commercial exploitation of the bus and metro stations. In times of austerity , these type of contracts should not be ignored, as long as the authorities work to benefit public transport users and not just to benefit business owners .

Nevertheless, the improvement of these bus and metro stations should be considered as an issue that has to be solved by both Mexico City and the state of Mexico because although it is located in Mexico City, the participation of the state of Mexico government is key since the majority of users and unit transports come from municipalities located in the state of Mexico.

Rescuing areas such as Indios Verdes will mean a better quality of life for hundreds of thousands of people. The project's aim is to provide security , the proper facilities, and efficiency to those who use the station every day but do not have time to organize protests to demand more security and better conditions . Nevertheless, the chaos is in full view and not only in Indios Verdes .

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