Another social benefit I see revolves around safety. Both in terms of road accident risks and crime prevention. I have unfortunately witnessed theft on overland buses in the area and with the amount of guards on duty in both stations and trains, I am pretty sure this would not have happened on the train. While I found driving in Mexico to be better than other countries like say... Iran, it was not the best experience either. #TrenMaya
Let's also remember what a new train means in terms of #accessibility and #barrierfree #inclusive travel. Step free access, escalators, ramps, signage, announcements. Space in the waiting area. Bus travel in Mexico has none of these attributes. #TrenMaya does.
Regarding the environmental benefits...well let's hope electric overhead wire is up and running soon, as I am little surprised to see Diesel all along the line so far. The trains are ready to operate electric. A train lasts for at least 35 years, often longer, so in terms of resources, it's a more responsible option than any car. #TrenMaya
The key to noticeable #environmental benefits I'd argue will be to win over tourists and locals from buses and cars. Now I just wonder how you actually prove that, as the bus system is completely private and will likely not share much data. In the end we need to be lucid enough to acknowledge that more ways generate more traffic. So let's also wonder what would happen without the train: even more roads across the peninsula's fragile #ecosystem? #TrenMaya
Now for tourism, the operator has started to deliver "packages" including multi day itineraries with fine dining and the visits of cultural attractions. It seems to be successful and I hope this can expand. Let's remember the tourist population is very diverse. Americans and Europeans have completely different travel habits - said a local guide to me. "Americans want to be taken care of whereas Europeans want to explore". #TrenMaya
@Moritz_Kleine
Thank you for this well balanced thread!
There are definitely europeans who want to be taken care of. But they would travel to Mallorca rather than Yucat谩n.
