Accessibility analysis
One hour by bus
How many jobs each Cancún resident can reach in 30, 45 and 60 minutes on foot and by bus: an accessibility model with live isochrones that measures inequality and the cost of congestion.
In one sentenceLocates where lack of access to jobs is most severe and measures the cost of congestion: the median resident reaches 31% of jobs in 45 minutes.
Spanish original: Una hora en camión
How many jobs can Cancún reach in an hour?
For someone without a car, a city's jobs count only insofar as they can be reached.
This atlas computes each resident's reach on foot and by bus, and where that reach is lowest.
Key findings
A third of the city in 45 minutes
The median resident reaches 31% of jobs in 45 minutes by bus at peak hour; on foot, 9%.
Fourteen times less
Subzone 1-A reaches 61% of jobs in 45 minutes; subzone 8, 4%. People without a car reach less (25% against 36%).
The cost of peak hour
In free-flow traffic the median resident would reach 51% of jobs in 45 minutes: congestion reduces reach by about 52,000 jobs.
Approach
Step 1
Combine the OpenStreetMap pedestrian network with the 35 bus routes, with virtual stops every 250 m, boarding wait and speeds based on measured congestion.
Step 2
Count the jobs reachable in 30, 45 and 60 minutes from every populated cell, at peak hour, in free flow and on foot only.
Step 3
Compare reach by subzone, behind gates and by car ownership.
How to read it
- Bus stops, frequencies and speeds are explicit assumptions: they change the numbers, not the pattern.
- The route layer excludes Kukulcán Boulevard: hotel-zone jobs are reached only on foot in the model.
- Shared vans, colectivos and taxis are not modelled.
Data
OpenStreetMap
4,069 km pedestrian network.
Bus routes
35 directional routes, without stops or frequencies.
Speeds
Maximum and minimum speed on 16 avenues.
Business directory 2026
Estimated employment by establishment.
2020 Census
Population and cars by block.
What supports the method
- Giovanni Vecchio (2020)Cumulative opportunities within a time threshold is the most used measure in Latin America, and thresholds should be discussed (p. 13 and 17).
- Levine, Grengs, Shen y Shen (2012)Accessibility depends more on proximity than on speed (p. 2).
Paraphrased; page numbers refer to the PDF consulted. The library is in Spanish.
What you just saw
Multimodal walk-and-bus model with isochrones computed in the browser.
What else this method can answer
- Which new route would widen access the most?
- How much does a neighbourhood gain if waiting time falls?
- Where should housing or jobs go to shorten trips?
In other places
Replicable with a pedestrian network, route alignments and an employment directory.
Line of work
B · Accessibility, proximity and care →Do you have a similar question in your city?
Describe the problem
Next in Accessibility and mobilityThe care commute