Electrifying Bus Routes: Insights from Mexico City’s Eje 8 Sur

This report aims to illustrate how a city can assess different electric bus technology options, by providing a summary of an analysis conducted in Mexico City by the C40 Cities Finance Facility (CFF). This summary explores how data on the buses’ financial costs, environmental impacts and on existing infrastructure on the route, led to the choice of trolleybuses as the best solution for the Eje 8 Sur route. This summary aims to inform similar analyses by other cities and practitioners.

Key insights:

1. It is critical that future bus procurement decisions are based on the Total Cost of Ownership of the bus to avoid choosing diesel technologies because of their lower upfront costs.

2. Integrating environmental impacts into technology assessments can drastically change the Total Cost of Ownership comparisons and allow for consideration of alternative bus technologies.

3. Specific city characteristics and experiences can help to overcome the operational risks associated with zero-emission technologies such as Mexico City’s experience with operating trolleybuses.

4. Alternative financing mechanisms may be needed to allow cities to borrow more and manage this debt to overcome the higher upfront costs.