Ciudad Azteca is a privately-funded, multi-modal public transit station located in the municipality of Ecatepec, a dense urban settlement in the Mexico City metropolitan area. Called “Azteca” for short, the station, inaugurated in 2009, was built and financed by a private entity called Comursa, a partnership of the infrastructure developer Grupo PRODI, and IDEAL, the financial arm of Grupo CARSO, a Mexican conglomerate.

At first glance, Ecatepec might be considered an unexpected location for this innovative urban intervention. Located in the rapidly expanding northern part of the metropolis, Ecatepec is one of the poorest, densest, and most violent municipalities in the region. Most residents must travel hours a day into the City’s center to reach employment opportunities. Like in many other growing urban areas, regional housing and transportation policies have increased car-oriented sprawl, exacerbating air pollution and increasing travel times.

The modernization of Azteca was proposed by Grupo PRODI’s CEO, Mr. Miguel Bejos, who saw both a business opportunity to capture the market of over a hundred thousand daily passengers and a social opportunity to benefit residents by improving the safety and efficiency of their commutes. Previously a chaotic, open-air transfer station (essentially a parking lot), the modernized station’s design and programming combines commercial facilities, a hospital, several transit modes, and more. The station has also implemented a security program and technological upgrades for the minibus system, two things that have improved passenger and visitor safety.

The station was the first attempt at modernizing a CETRAM (Centro de Transferencia Modal, or multi-modal transfer station) through a public-private partnership in metropolitan Mexico City. Since Azteca was completed, several other CETRAMs (there are 49 total in the metropolitan area) are undergoing modernization through public-private schemes. Thus, the costs, benefits, and implications of Azteca’s development provide valuable lessons as cities across the globe struggle to build better urban transit infrastructure and upgrade unsafe conditions, amidst tight municipal budgets. In the case of megacities like Mexico City — where commutes can take upwards of two hours each way and negatively impact the poorest citizens the most — the stakes are even higher.

 

Case Overview

This case begins by explaining the context of transportation in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area, and then sets the stage for understanding why CETRAMs exist and why they are such critical nodes within the city’s transit infrastructure. The case then explores Ciudad Azteca and its modernization, and invites an evaluation of the impacts of the station’s public-private partnership, its design, and more. Finally, students are invited to critically examine and reflect upon lessons learned and implications for the country’s transit infrastructure.