Reimagining Nochebús

Client Inter-American Development Bank / Laboratorio para la Ciudad
Location Mexico City, Mexico
Year 2017 – 2018
Services Brand & Visual Identity, Cartography, Digital Services, Information Design, Wayfinding

Mexico City’s night bus service operates from midnight until 5am and, with 15% of employees starting or finishing work in the early hours and many visitors or residents returning home after a night out, it should be a vital asset for the city. However a combination of poor reliability, concerns about personal safety, and a lack of visibility and information have resulted in a poor customer experience and a service that is used only by people with limited or no mobility alternatives.

Steer’s Design for Movement team was commissioned by the Inter-American Development Bank and Mexico City’s Innovation Lab to analyse service delivery issues across the Mexico City’s night bus network. The project focus was on Avenida Insurgentes – a 27km corridor cutting the city centre from north to south. The project output was a replicable package of measures that could be implemented in the short- / medium-term to improve the overall passenger experience and grow patronage.

Our work included an international best practice review; PERS audits of passenger environments; on-street engagement with existing and potential users; passenger trip and user type analysis; and user journey mapping to identify pain points and determine the scale of demand that a revitalized service could generate.

Workshops with key stakeholders helped establish their aspirations for the service and identify opportunities or barriers to implementation of improvements.

Building on this analysis, the team identified a series of practical interventions that could be implemented as a pilot along Avenida Insurgentes and later replicated on the other corridors. The interventions aimed to improve the user experience and included: Mexico City’s first fixed schedule bus service; consolidation of interchanges and enhanced stop environments; operational changes to improve service reliability, lighting, cleanliness and safety.

Complementing the service and operational enhancements, Steer designed a new Nochebús brand identity that acknowledges Mexico City Metro’s iconic brand yet remains distinct and recognisable in its own right. The brand is translated through a suite of passenger information products, including a schematic network map, local area wayfinding maps, and templates for stop-specific information - all delivered as part of a system brand manual. 

Steer provided design and cartography training to the city’s Innovation Lab so that they could apply the designs across the network. The system was launched in 2018.