Residents of San José de Cutuglahua in southern Quito face significant difficulties accessing the city via public transportation [1].

This lack of reliable transit isolates one of the city's most peripheral neighborhoods, limiting the ability of residents to reach employment, healthcare, and education centers efficiently. The struggle highlights a growing gap in urban infrastructure between the city center and its outermost borders.

San José de Cutuglahua is the southernmost barrio of Quito and borders the canton of Mejía [1]. For those living in this area, the daily commute is described as an odyssey [1]. The difficulty stems from a combination of sparse bus routes and the long distances required to reach main transit hubs [1].

Commuters report that service frequency is poor, making trips unreliable [1]. Because the neighborhood is located on the extreme edge of the city, the transit options are more limited than in central districts. This geographical isolation is compounded by a lack of integrated transport solutions that would connect the area more effectively to the rest of the metropolitan region [1].

Local residents must navigate these infrequent services to move throughout the city, often spending hours in transit for journeys that would be shorter with better infrastructure [1]. The current state of the transport network in the southern periphery remains a primary concern for the community as they seek more consistent and frequent bus services [1].

“Traveling by public transport from the neighborhood is described as an odyssey”

The transit crisis in San José de Cutuglahua illustrates the challenges of 'last-mile' connectivity in rapidly expanding Latin American cities. When peripheral neighborhoods lack integrated transport, it creates a socio-economic barrier that restricts the mobility of the urban poor and increases their dependence on inefficient or informal transit methods.