Halted Subway Lines Increase Bike Mobility

Andrés Lajous, Minister of Mobility for Mexico City, reported that the ECOBICI program has broken its subscription record in the last three weeks, reports Excelsior. When the pandemic started, ECOBICI created a special subscription program that allowed users to subscribe for six months to the program, allowing them to pay less, reports Milenio. Bike mobility has been increasing over the last year in Mexico City with a whopping 221 percent spike in April 2020, according to data from the Ministry of Mobility, reported MBN.

Over the last three weeks, the ECOBICI system reported a record of 4,085 new subscriptions, with most ECOBICI trips taking place around Metro Lines 1, 2 and 3, which were the most affected last month when a fire at the Buen Tono Control Center halted the operations of six subway lines, reports Milenio. Lajous told Excelsior that he attributes the increased use around the area to the damage to the Metro Lines, with many users needing a transportation alternative until lines are properly fixed.

Metro Lines 1 and 3 recently resumed activities after being shut down for three weeks following the fire. Metro Line 1 had been declared almost operational a couple of weeks back when authorities mentioned they wanted to evaluate convoy safety. On Monday, Metro Line 3, which goes from Indios Verdes to Universidad, resumed activities. On Jan. 4, however, occasional energy cuts were reported on both lines causing many delays for metro users. Authorities claim these were sporadic 10-minute cuts but metro users on social media had declared the cuts were longer, sometimes taking over 20 and 30 minutes, reported Expansión Política. "This has a lot to do with the calibration work we are doing. We can report, however, that our protections are working really well and they are very sensitive,” said Florencia Serranía Soto, Head of the Metro Collective Transportation System (STC), reported El Universal.