León has a population of 1.3 million and is the sixth largest city in Mexico, it led the nation in introducing integrated bus systems and Bus Rapid Transit in 2003, with the creation of the La Optima BRT.

This year León expanded La Optima’s capacity, outreach and efficiency, which has led to quicker travel times, increased ridership and decreased CO2 emissions. León restructured and optimized its bus routes, creating three new BRT lines and integrating auxiliary and feeder routes. The city also enabled transfers with a single payment. As a result trips made have increased by 100%.

This ‘Integrated Transport System’ (SIT), as it’s called, was expanded to areas with a large proportion of low-income families, adding 150,000 users and bringing its total daily passenger tally to 350,000 people, representing 65 percent of total demand in the city.

Expansion also enabled the city to conclude years of negotiation with local transport operators. Simultaneous negotiations transformed the operators from individual and loosely affiliated operators into modern companies, fit to manage the new routes smoothly and efficiently.

The city also reaps significant environmental benefits from this system, thanks in large part to the introduction of Euro IV articulated buses and the use of ultra low sulfur fuel, the system now emits 5,600 tons less CO2 annually.

León has also an extraordinary track record in active transport, promoting cycling and walking and integrating both modes with their transit system, keeping the biking and walking share above 39% of the total trips, one of the highest values in Latin American cities.