Civil engineer and professor; master’s degree in Traffic and Transportation Engineering. Researcher and specialist in infrastructure, operations, and road safety education. Founding member of Enclave 8 A.C.
Within the framework of the supervision of Line 4 of the Cablebús in Mexico City, President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that this system benefits lower-income populations and significantly reduces travel times by overcoming urban topographical complexities. Based on this premise, the governor of Puebla and his chief of cabinet sought to justify the implementation of a cable transportation line in the state capital.
However, from the perspective of transportation engineering, there is a fundamental divergence in the territorial variables of both projects:
- Mexico City (Line 4): It responds to rugged terrain with steep slopes in areas of high building density and poor access for traditional surface transportation modes (Vuchic, 2007). In this context, aerial cable transportation acts as a socially justified feeder*.
- Puebla capital: It is located on a flat valley with minimal slopes that do not justify the vertical segregation of transportation through aerial cable. The physics and economics of urban mobility establish that cable transportation has a reduced theoretical maximum capacity—between 3,000 and 4,500 passengers per hour per direction (p/h/d)—compared with a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system on the surface, which can move between 10,000 and 20,000 p/h/d at a significantly lower cost per kilometer (Rod Rodríguez, 2014; Wright & Hook, 2007).
Consequently, the implementation of the project in Puebla lacks support in the demand matrix and in the urban mobility hierarchy. So far, the authorities have not made public an executive project or a Comprehensive Vision Study that includes Origin-Destination analysis, social internal rate of return (IRR), or an evaluation of cost-effective alternatives.
This criticism does not stem from partisan positions or systematic opposition to modernization. It is based on rigorous principles of urban planning: the adoption of a transportation technology should be guided by operational efficiency, modal integration, and technical feasibility, rather than by unilateral decisions lacking technical modeling.
- A feeder (or feeder system) is a transportation route of medium or low capacity whose primary function is to collect passengers from peripheral areas, neighborhoods, or districts that are difficult to access and transport them toward a high-capacity main route or line, such as a Metro, Suburban Train, or BRT/Metrobús.
Source: e-consulta
