Quito's Metro Expansion and Cantonization Plan to Fix Mobility

The Quito Metro-Q, operating for two and a half years, carries only about 46% of its design capacity, generating a financial deficit. Critics note that the surface trolleybus line runs parallel to the metro, creating competition, and that the city's 65 bus cooperatives maintain overlapping routes that are poorly integrated with the metro system.

In response, a citizen initiative called "Gran Quito" proposes reorganizing the metropolitan district into six cantons—Calderón, Ilaló, Quito Central, Los Chillos, Rumiñahui and Mejía—and establishing new governance structures. The plan positions the metro as the backbone of regional development, calling for an extension to La Ofelia to serve as a major intermodal hub linking nearby towns. It also suggests relocating the trolley system, restructuring bus routes, building a metropolitan corridor to connect valleys, and financing projects by monetizing underused public assets.

The proposals criticize the current municipal administration for inaction and argue that coordinated transport planning and private investment are essential to address Quito's mobility crisis and urban decay.