Regional planning and operations architectures as means to foster transportation integration in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area

Abstract

The MCMA complexity in political, institutional, economical, and jurisdictional terms has resulted in limited coordination between MCMA authorities that in conjunction with the limited role of metropolitan transportation authorities have created the need for innovative institutional cooperation in order to meet the MCMA's transportation needs. The ready applicability of the extensive research conducted at MIT in regional strategic transportation planning in general and in regional architectures in particular has motivated this exploration of how the current MCMA institutional arrangements can be improved. The concept of regional architectures provides a framework that explicitly addresses the interaction between transportation institutions and therefore can serve as a framework to help solve the institutions shortcomings of MCMA transportation planning and operations. In addition, regional architectures can assist MCMA institutions to better align their roles and responsibilities with the transportation goals of the region. The purpose of this thesis is to propose a new Regional Planning Architecture (RPA) that would describe the fundamental relationships between transportation authorities in providing metropolitan transportation planning and a new Regional Operations Architecture (ROA) that would describe the fundamental relationships between transportation authorities in providing metropolitan transportation operations. In addition, this thesis explores how these architectures can influence modal integration in the MCMA transportation system.

(cont.) As one of the two main outputs of this thesis the new RPA for the MCMA recommends the strengthening and restructuring of the existing metropolitan planning institutions, consolidating them into a comprehensive regional planning institution that would have the appropriate means to achieve their recommendations. The other main output of this thesis, the new ROA, recommends the creation of a regional operations center that would coordinate transportation operations at the metropolitan level. Regional Architectures can aid transportation modal agencies and authorities in achieving coordination and collaboration, which would lead to greater modal integration favoring a restructuring of multimodal transportation and an intermodal transportation system in the MCMA. However, regional architectures do not guarantee coordination and collaboration among transportation modes and institutions. The willingness of transportation agencies and authorities to overcome the political rivalry between the EM and the DF is also necessary.