Expansion of Ecobici in CDMX Includes Installation of Over 4,000 Public Advertising Screens

The expansion of Ecobici in Ciudad de Mexico is not just about adding more bicycles and cycle stations. The new contract also includes thousands of spaces for outdoor advertising, including hundreds of electronic screens that could modify the urban landscape of the capital.

According to Jorge Carlos Negrete, president of the Fundacion por el Rescate y Recuperacion del Paisaje Urbano, the project includes 4,022 public advertising spaces, which has generated indignation among specialists and organizations dedicated to the defense of the urban landscape.

The Expansion of Ecobici and Public Advertising

The public advertising spaces are one of the elements that have generated the most attention around the new Ecobici concession. The project includes spaces linked to the cycle stations and 600 additional electronic screens in other locations. The dimension of the project goes beyond placing advertising on bicycle stations, and also involves incorporating new structures into urban furniture.

Negrete pointed out that Ciudad de Mexico already faces a saturation of outdoor advertising on elements such as bridges, under bridges, public transportation, and Metro and Metrobus stations. The incorporation of thousands of additional spaces opens a new debate about visual pollution and the ordering of the urban landscape.

Ecobici Expansion Details

The contract does not only contemplate the advertising business. The renovation of Ecobici provides that the system will go from the current 9,300 bicycles to 15,000 units, in addition to growing from 689 to 1,111 cycle stations and having at least 30,000 functional anchors at the conclusion of the expansion.

The system will also arrive for the first time in the municipalities of Iztacalco, Iztapalapa, and Tlalpan, while in Alvaro Obregon, Azcapotzalco, Benito Juarez, Coyoacan, Cuauhtemoc, and Miguel Hidalgo, the existing infrastructure will be reinforced. The expansion seeks to broaden the coverage of Ecobici towards new areas of Ciudad de Mexico and increase the capacity of the service.

Contract Value and Public Reaction

The value of the contract is another element that explains the public annoyance. Negrete estimated that the project represents around 2,500 million pesos and described it as one of the largest businesses related to outdoor advertising in Ciudad de Mexico.

The specialist also stated that the entire outdoor advertising industry in the capital generates around 1,500 million pesos annually. With this comparison, the Ecobici contract would have a particularly relevant weight within the market.

The discussion, however, is not limited to money. Ciudad de Mexico already faces problems in ordering the existing outdoor advertising. The Fundacion por el Rescate y Recuperacion del Paisaje Urbano pointed out that the arrival of the World Cup caused a 20% increase in irregular advertising structures, while brands and advertisers take advantage of the lack of application of the regulations to occupy even corridors where there are restrictions.

According to the organization, in the capital, there are around 50,000 irregular advertising billboards, 800 advertisements on blind walls, and about 1,800 spectaculars. The Fundacion por el Rescate y Recuperacion del Paisaje Urbano has also warned that it is frequent to find advertisements at a distance of less than 50 meters from each other, despite the fact that the regulations establish a minimum separation of 250 meters to avoid visual saturation.

In this context, the Ecobici project adds to a market that already faces questions about the ordering of public space. For now, the Secretaria de Movilidad de Ciudad de Mexico considers the procedure concluded and maintains that the adjudication complied with the conditions established in the bases.

The following table compares the current and future state of the Ecobici system: