| MAAS IN MEXICO CITY
Annual Showcase 2020 | Intertraffic World
031
Geography lesson
Why Mexico City’s location and environment makes ride sharing
an even greater challenge than in many other developing cities
Mexico City is a sprawling
megacity covering
573 square miles with
an estimated population of
around nine million. It also
faces environmental challenges
because it’s situated in a valley,
which means the surrounding
mountains block wind currents
and hold the polluted air.
The World Health
Organization (WHO) estimates
Mexico City’s ‘suspended
particulates’ at 179mg/m3
– almost double the WHO’s
maximum recommendation
of 90mg. The biggest cause of
these suspended particulate
is exhaust fumes.
“Clearly congestion is bad,”
says Jack Opiola. “In fact it is
rated as the most congested city
in the world ahead of Bangkok
in Thailand, Jakarta in Indonesia
and Chongqing in China. Bus
and road usage are big issues
and congestion exacerbates the
pollution, while the city’s size
and sprawling nature limits
the reach of rail services.
“Mexico has implemented
programs banning cars on
certain days, but with little
success,” he adds. “Congestion
pricing has been discussed, but
is politically distasteful to a
series of mayoral and national
administrations.
“The electrification of the
vehicle fleet and shared vehicle
program incentives may help
improve the city’s environmental
future, but they will do little to
improve the ongoing congestion
problems.”