Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, July 27, 2026 – Puerto Vallarta’s electric buses could begin carrying passengers within days, state officials said Monday after inspecting the charging depot, passenger shelters and 18 vehicles assigned to the opening stage.
The announcement moves the project closer to service after repeated delays, but it stops short of giving passengers an exact launch date, detailed route maps or the time and location of the first departures.
The charging depot has been the critical piece holding up the rollout. In May, Vallarta Daily reported that the buses could not begin regular service until charging infrastructure was completed. Monday’s inspection confirms work has advanced, although officials did not say whether the facility has completed commissioning or operational testing.
The 18 air-conditioned buses will form the first operating stage of the new Sistema de Electromovilidad, according to information released after the state inspection. The vehicles include low-floor access, larger passenger areas and onboard technology intended to improve safety and comfort.
The rollout has already missed earlier targets. State officials initially said seven electric buses would begin running during the first week of May. The fleet continued arriving through July, and eight additional buses reached the city without a confirmed service date earlier this month.
Monday’s fleet count also differs from previous descriptions of the opening system. Earlier state information identified 19 electric buses, four trunk routes, one complementary route, 11 principal stations and 110 stops. The latest announcement refers to 18 buses in the first stage but does not explain whether the remaining unit will be held in reserve, delivered later or assigned elsewhere.
Previous plans place the buses mainly along Avenida Francisco Medina Ascencio, with connections involving the Hotel Zone, Marina Vallarta, the airport corridor, Ixtapa and the University of Guadalajara’s CUCosta campus. Officials have projected service every five minutes and daily ridership near 20,000 passengers once the planned network is operating.
Those projections cannot yet be evaluated because the state has not released a public operating timetable showing which sections will open first, whether all planned routes will begin together or how the new service will interact with existing Unibus routes.
The system is expected to accept Mi Movilidad and other state transit cards. Puerto Vallarta’s standard urban bus fare has been 11 pesos since April 1, while students pay a preferential five-peso fare. Monday’s announcement did not separately confirm the opening fare or whether cash payments will be accepted aboard the electric units.
State Infrastructure Secretary David Miguel Zamora Bueno, Transportation Secretary Diego Monraz Villaseñor and SITEUR Director Amílcar Arnoldo López Zepeda participated in the inspection.
