The first line runs 16.6 km (10.3 mi) along Calzada Independencia and Gobernador Curiel avenues with a total of 27 stations, including two terminals: Mirador (northern terminus, in Guadalajara) and Fray Angélico (southern terminus, in Tlaquepaque).[1] The line intersects the LRT's Line 2 at San Juan de Dios station. After the LRT Line 3 was completed in 2016, a second transfer point was created at the station immediately south, Bicentenario (BRT) / Independencia (LRT-3).
The first line has been renamed Mi Macro Calzada to distinguish it from the second BRT line running along the Anillo Periférico Manuel Gómez Morin [es]ring road, which opened in 2022. The second line is named Mi Macro Periférico and includes 42 stations over a 41.5 km (25.8 mi) route.[2] The Periférico line, formerly nicknamed Peribús, was initially projected to serve 364,000 daily riders; it was first funded in January 2017 from Fondo Nacional de Infraestructura (Fonadin, the National Infrastructure Fund)[3] with a grant of 660.8 million pesos, subsidizing a larger contribution from the Jalisco state government.[4] Work on the Periférico line began in November 2019, and was projected to complete in 2021.[5][6]
Regular service takes approximately 46 minutes each way and operates from 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM. Limited-stop service (38 minutes each way) operates from 5:00 AM to 9:00 PM, connecting the stations noted as "Express" above. Typical headways are 8 minutes, with 5 minute headways during rush hours.[1]
Additional lines were[when?] planned and were scheduled to open in 2010, soon after the opening of Macrobús Line 1. These included:
Macrobús Line 2 would run along Avenida Ávila Camacho and Calzada Revolución from Doctor Ángel Leaño in Zapopan to the new central bus terminal in Tlaquepaque.[7] This route was later used for LRT Line 3.
Macrobús Line 3 would run along Calzada del Obrero (Fed. 15) and Calzada Jesús González Gallo (Fed. 23) from Juan Pablo and Periferico to Glorieta El Álamo in Tlaquepaque. This line will eventually be extended to the Guadalajara International Airport in Tlajomulco along Fed. 44.
Instituto de Políticas para el Transporte y el Desarrollo (ITDP) proposed an expansion of the Macrobús system with six new lines to a total of 135.4 km (84.1 mi) in addition to the Calzada line. The first of the proposed lines was a 36.3 km (22.6 mi) subset of the present Periférico line. Other proposed lines were largely laid out along radial spokes and included:[8]
Lázaro Cárdenas: serving 129,000 daily passengers on a 23.1 km (14.4 mi) similar to the earlier proposed Line 3 along Fed. 15 and Fed. 23
Lopez Mateos: 54,000 passengers, 13.6 km (8.5 mi)
8 de Julio: 88,000 passengers, 23.5 km (14.6 mi), parallel to the southern half of LRT Line 1
Vallarta: 38,000 passengers, 25.4 km (15.8 mi), acting as a western extension to LRT Line 2
Gallo y Michel: 24,000 passengers, 13.5 km (8.4 mi)
The initial Macrobús fleet included 41 blue articulatedVolvo 7300 BRT buses,[9] which are built on the Volvo B12M chassis and compliant with the Euro IV emissions standard.[12]Mexico City also uses Volvo 7300 BRT buses for the Metrobús BRT system, but the Mexico City Volvo 7300 BRT buses are 25 m long (82 ft) bi-articulated buses,[13] while the Guadalajara BRT system uses 18 m long (59 ft) single-articulated buses.[9][14] 27 of the 41 were refurbished by July 2021 to extend their life by five years.[15][16]
In 2014, Guadalajara added four red articulated DINA S.A. Brighter (stylized as BRighTer to emphasize its use in BRT systems) buses to the Macro Calzada fleet.[10] The newer DINA buses are compliant with the stricter Euro V emissions standard,[17] and are equipped with a CumminsISM 10.8L six-cylinder engine and a six-speed Allison Transmission.[18][19] Neither the Volvo nor DINA buses are equipped with air conditioning.[20]
For the Periférico Line, Mi Macro will use 37 articulated buses built on the Mercedes-Benz O 500 MA 2836 chassis, bodied by Busscar.[11] The O 500 MA 2836 is also compliant with the Euro V emissions standard and is equipped with a six-cylinder OM 457 diesel engine.[21]
As of February 2008, there were 130 bus routes running along Calzada Independencia and Gobernador Curiel, serviced by more than 2,000 buses. The goal of the BRT is to replace all non-BRT buses along the route. Many routes will be eliminated altogether and others altered so as to cross the BRT route and serve as feeder buses.
It is expected that upon the initial route's launch, the BRT system will achieve a daily ridership of over 174,000 passengers.[citation needed]