Public Transport Users Drop 0.9% in Mexican Cities in January

Urban passenger transport systems in major Mexican metropolitan areas carried 228.3 million passengers in January 2025, a slight decrease of 0.9% against January 2024, according to INEGI. Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, recorded the most significant drop, with a 20.2% reduction in public transport users.

According to INEGI's Urban Passenger Transport Statistics (ETUP), the urban transport systems in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (ZMVM) served 163.2 million passengers in January 2025. This represents a 1.4% increase compared to January 2024. However, the total distance these systems covered decreased by 11.7%, to 27.1 million km.

The Mexico City Metro system recorded over 96.6 million users, representing over 59% of the total passengers in ZMVM, exceeding the combined ridership of all other ETUP-measured cities. The metro was followed by the Metrobús system with 36.9 million users, reporting a 1.6% decrease; the State of Mexico’s Mexibus system with 9.9 million users, a 10% increase; and Trolleybus system with 8.2 million users, registering a 8.4% user increase. 

Guadalajara's transport systems carried 27 million passengers in January 2025, a 1.8% year-on-year decrease. The main public transport systems were the Light Rail system with 13.7 million passengers, accounting for 50.74% of the city’s public transport users. The system was followed by the bus-rapit transit (BRT) Mi Macro Periferico Troncal service with 7.1 million users, a 5.2% increase, and the Macrobús Servicio Troncal with 2.8 million passengers, a 4.7% decrease. 

Queretaro experienced the largest increase in public transportation users, with a 76.8% rise, to a total of 500,000 users. Pachuca saw the steepest decline, with a 20% reduction, reaching 1.6 million users. Other cities showed more moderate changes: Leon, Guanajuato, had a 7% decrease; Chihuahua, a 9% increase; Puebla, a 0.4% increase; and Acapulco, a 4.2% decrease.

Monterrey’s Public Transportation Use Decline

Monterrey's passenger transport systems served 10.2 million passengers in January 2025, a 20.2% annual decrease, the largest drop registered among all cities. The system that transported the most passengers was Metrorrey with 6 million users. It was followed by the BRT system Transmetro with 3.3 million passengers, and Transmetro Garcia-Monterrey with 900,000 users. 

According to Cómo Vamos Nuevo Leon, the primary mode of transportation in Nuevo Leon is the private car, used by 42.3% of inhabitants, with over 50% of the people driving alone. Only 29% of Nuevo Leon inhabitants primarily use public transport. The organization cites comfort, commuting time differences, and insufficient route coverage as the main reasons for this preference. 

Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel García stated he would create an agenda with his state cabinet to address the lack of mobility options, which contributes to the state's recent poor air quality. So far, the government has only proposed providing 10 free monthly public transport trips to certain vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, women, and individuals with incomes below two minimum wages. The local government expects to acquire 1,600 buses to renovate at least 80% of Nuevo Leon’s fleet.