Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In

Buenos Aires is fast becoming one of the most admired cities in the world when it comes to reinventing streets and transportation.

Just over a year ago, the city launched MetroBus BRT (constructed in less than seven months) on 9 de Julio Avenue, which may be the world's widest street. The transformation of four general traffic lanes to exclusive bus lanes has yielded huge dividends for the city and is a bold statement from Mayor Mauricio Macri about how Buenos Aires thinks about its streets. More than 650,000 people now ride MetroBus every day, and it has cut commutes in the city center from 50-55 minutes to an incredible 18 minutes.

That's not the only benefit of this ambitious project. The creation of MetroBus freed up miles of narrow streets that used to be crammed with buses. Previously, Buenos Aires had some pedestrian streets, but moving the buses to the BRT corridor allowed the administration to create a large network of shared streets in downtown where pedestrians rule. On the shared streets, drivers aren't permitted to park and the speed limit is an astonishingly low 10 km/h. Yes, that is not a misprint -- you're not allowed to drive faster than 6 mph!

Bicycling has also increased rapidly in the past four years -- up from 0.5 percent mode share to 3 percent mode share and climbing. Ecobici is the city's bike-share system which is expanding to 200 stations in early 2015. Oh, and add this amazing fact: Ecobici is free for all users for the first hour.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Federal Drug Agents Seize New 10th Avenue Bike Lane

The Department of Transportation is letting the DEA effectively redesign a block that should have a protected bike lane.

September 24, 2025

Opinion: DOT’s Flatbush Plan Is A Model For Fast Buses in the Heart of Brooklyn

The DOT commissioner, plus two top transit advocates, weigh in on the city's bus rapid transit plan.

September 24, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines: Look, You’re the Traffic Edition

Why don't French leaders take Le Subway (which is definitely NOT what French people call the subway)? Plus other news.

September 24, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Live from MARS To Change the ‘Crash First, Fix Later’ Mentality

Welcome to MARS: Modern Analytics for Roadway Safety. Let's talk about it in a special edition of the podcast.

September 24, 2025

‘Treated and Streeted’: How The City’s Safety Net Fails Homeless People in the Subway

The Big Apple’s $30-billion social safety net cannot reliably get a homeless person in psychiatric crisis out of the subway and into a hospital bed, a Streetsblog investigation has found.

September 23, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines: ‘Not In My Back Yard’? ‘Yes, In Your Back Yard’ Edition

Our editor-in-chief joins the expert panel at the popular Upright Citizens Brigade's political comedy roundtable on Wednesday night. Plus other news.

September 23, 2025
See all posts