Conditions for the infrastructure of mass transportation patronage. The light rail line 3 in Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, Mexico

Abstract

Objective

Some Latin-American metropolises are building mass transit infrastructures as a way to substitute the increasing use of automobile and to relieve urban environmental problems. In drawing on the growing literature on megaprojects and the public transport choices, the main objective of this paper is to analyze some factors that condition how citizens actually use these infrastructures. The study reflects on the construction of Line 3 of Light Rail in Guadalajara Metropolitan Area.

Methodology

The methodology is based on a random survey applied to 800 subjects inside a buffer of 1 kilometer from the route.

Conclusions

After presenting the principal outcomes, it’s conclude that Line 3 will only be used by a captive patronage of citizens that previously resorted to an unreliable and deficient web of micro-buses. If a more overarching use is targeted, extra and integral measures will be demanded that would make the system more appealing.

Originality

The originality of this paper consists on complementing the existing contributions on the shift to public transportation use. As the current bibliography on these issues refers to cities in developed countries, I present a case from a Latin-American Metropolis.