Sistema Integral del Tren Ligero

The history of train feeder buses in Guadalajara began with a project called the Auxiliary Link System (Spanish: Sistema Auxiliar de Enlace) (SAE). On 1 February 1995, SITEUR introduced a project which aimed to increase user reach. Based on the experiences of other transport systems in the world, it was contemplated to integrate feeder routes that would be shared between the existing lines 1 and 2.[1] The routes would be strategically traced based on studies about the areas with the highest influx of passengers.

Eight routes were proposed. These were: Dermatológico - Los Belenes (Telmex Auditorium), Tesoro - Las Águilas (López Mateos Sur), 18 de Marzo - Industrial Zone, Oblatos - CUCEI, San Andrés - Circunvalación Oblatos, San Jacinto - Pila Seca (Tlaquepaque), La Aurora - Beatriz Hernández and Tetlán - Guadalajara Bus Station.

On 29 January 1996, the system began operations with 7 out of the 8 proposed routes —the 18 de Marzo - Industrial Zone route was postponed due to technical issues—. The transfer from the train to the buses and vice versa was free of charge. The average speed was 18 km/h (11 mph), and the headway approximately 10 minutes. The routes were covered by 22 buses + 5 reserves. The service was operated in a coordinated manner between SITEUR and the state-owned Servicios y Transportes (SyT).

The service was temporarily shutdown on 28 November 1998, arguing a lack of drivers and buses, as well as low demand. However, the service was never re-established .

On 5 January 2007, the operations of a service known back then as PreTren began. It connected the city centre with the western zone of Zapopan. The route starts at the Juárez station of Line 2 and ends at the Zapopan west bus station.

Line 1 route starts at Av. Juárez and Calzada del Federalismo, passing along Av. Vallarta until the Periférico Beltway. From there it returns by Av. Vallarta until the Glorieta Minerva, where it takes Av. López Mateos Norte and Av. Hidalgo until Calzada del Federalismo, where it started.[2]

It has a special service on Sundays, since the Vía RecreActiva (a biking route) blocks a section of the route, so the bus takes an alternative route.[3]

On 29 January 2015, the Jalisco state governor, Aristóteles Sandoval, announced an expansion of the then called PreTren, although now under the name of SITREN, an acronym for Sistema Integral del Tren Ligero (Spanish for Light Rail Integral System).[4]

Line 2 of SITREN began operations on Tuesday 3 February 2015. This line was planned to run to the municipality of Tonalá, serving the neighbourhoods of Zalatitán, Basilio Vadillo, Bosques de Tonalá and Educadores. Its route begins at the Tetlán station of line 2 of SITEUR, and runs by the avenues María Reyes, Juárez (Zalatitán), Gigantes, Ruperto García del Alba, Juan Gil Preciado (Tonalá), Encino, Juan de Dios Robledo, De los Maestros, Tonaltecas and ends at the Emiliano Zapata street until the Glorieta to the Tonalteca Crafts. It returns through Zaragoza street and then back to Tetlán.[5] This line was of great importance since Tonalá suffers from a serious lag in terms of public transport and the quality of its streets and avenues is extremely poor.

Line 3 of SITREN started operations on 2 February 2016, replacing the trolleybus route 400, now under SITEUR authority. It follows the same 34 km route that the original route had, from the Felipe Ángeles street until the vicinity of the Glorieta Minerva. It has 54 stops.[2]

It must be mentioned that for this line only modern trolleybuses were acquired. They have the capacity to disconnect from the catenary in case of breakdowns or incidents on the roads. Twenty five units were purchased, of which five had card recharge machines.[6]

On 26 November 2018, the system was expanded with the creation of Line 4, starting in Zapopan and ending in Valle de los Molinos. This line arose with the idea of feeding line 3 of SITEUR, then still under construction.[7]

On 15 October an agreement was signed with the University of Guadalajara, creating an extension of line 1, named Line 1-B. This extension arose due to the need for transportation of the students of the University Center of Biological and Agricultural Sciences (CUCBA). The route aims to solve a 40-year-problem, since public transport to and from the university centre had always been poor. In addition, this route benefited the workers of El Bajío, an area through which this line runs.[8]

A total of twenty seven units serve Line 1, of which 3 have disabled access, across 27 stations (plus eight that are used on Sunday route, since a section of the normal route is blocked during that day), It runs from 5:00 to 23:00 hours. Line 1-B is served by 7 units (2 with disabled access), while Line 2 is served by 22 units (3 with disabled access). Line 3 counts with 25 trolleybuses, all with disabled access. Line 4 has 33 units serving the route (6 of which have disabled access).

The toll payment system is through a smart card that can be acquired at the Light Rail facilities as well as in various shops and services located along the Vallarta corridor. Payment with cash is also possible, depositing the exact amount in a slot machine that the buses have at the entrance; the machine does not return exchange. The authorized fare is $ 9.50 Mexican pesos, and, by using the smart card as a payment method, users can transfer to the SITEUR network and vice versa paying only half of the official fare (Mex$4.75), saving considerably, especially those who regularly use the car or the conventional public transport.

The system implements state-of-the-art technology that allows detailed monitoring of the quality of the service provided to its users. This is achieved by logging bus operation telemetry, especially driving telemetry, such as acceleration, braking, travel time, punctual departures and arrivals at the terminals.

The SITREN service helps reduce pollutants that are dumped into the environment, guaranteeing the efficient use of fuel since all buses comply with the EPA 98 ecological standard, apart from the fact that their transmission is automatic and not manual. In addition, due to its system of predefined stops, the bus makes fewer starts, generating less pollution.

The norm to equip more than 10% of the buses with special platforms for users with reduced mobility is also complied with; two to four buses are equipped with said platforms on each line.