Collaborative Efforts to Improve Metropolitan Monterrey’s Commute
As the new school year 2025-2026 begins, Nuevo León’s Secretary of Economy, in partnership with the Secretariat of Mobility and various companies, is implementing several strategies to improve mobility in Monterrey’s metropolitan area and reduce commute times. These strategies include promoting private transportation, carpooling (shared rides for similar destinations), and gradually adopting staggered work hours.
The Secretary of Economy, Betsabé Rocha, and the Secretary of Mobility and Urban Planning, Hernán Villarreal, emphasized that this is a collaborative effort with Coparmex, Canaco Monterrey, Caintra, and Index Nuevo León, as well as any state clusters that choose to participate voluntarily.
Survey and Implementation
A survey was conducted among 60 companies representing over 40,000 employees in municipalities such as Apodaca, García, Escobedo, Guadalupe, Monterrey, Pesquería, San Nicolás de los Garza, San Pedro Garza García, and Santa Catarina. Based on the survey results, they aim to avoid peak hours, reduce commute times, and implement staggered work hours by zones.
“We have identified best practices such as avoiding peak hours, reducing commute times, and implementing staggered work hours by zones. We are already working with the Chambers on this. Today, September 10th, we can say that we are starting this process, which will be gradual and phased. The goal is for more companies to join in this collaborative effort,” stated the official.
Inclusive Approach
The Secretary of Economy clarified that the staggered work hour initiative is coordinated to implement efficient public policies. This approach is not restrictive but encourages many companies to adopt these measures, fostering collaboration among businesses, government, and industries for better mobility.
Currently, 128 private institutions have joined the effort to promote school transportation and carpooling, representing 360 schools and over 73,000 students in Monterrey’s Poniente, Norte, Sur, Valle, and Oriente areas.
Focus on Carpooling
Meanwhile, the Secretary of Mobility, Hernán Villarreal Rodríguez, highlighted that with the opening of express and counterflow lanes, there have been no issues during the return to classes.
He explained that the vision for carpooling is to create parent-child communities in participating schools, ensuring safety and traceability during student transportation.
So far, meetings have been held between 360 private schools with 73,944 students and 65 companies using free carpooling apps. This allows for increased private vehicle usage with safety measures and traceability.
“These apps enable parents to know their children’s whereabouts and identify carpooling vehicles, promoting shared rides,” Villarreal noted.
“If we successfully encourage more carpooling, we can substantially reduce traffic issues. Alongside incentives for shared rides, we are also working with municipalities to establish more reversible and high-occupancy lanes to alleviate traffic problems,” he added.
Companies with Best Practices
Since 2023, companies like KIA in Pesquería and Whirlpool in Apodaca have implemented staggered work hours, adjusting transportation routes, anticipating road closures, and establishing support committees to improve operations.
KIA and Whirlpool representatives, Roberto Cortez and Enrique Sánchez, announced their participation in the state government’s comprehensive mobility initiative to reduce metropolitan Monterrey’s traffic congestion.
