Enhancing Regional Accessibility: Lima Metro Line 2, Peru

Metro Line 2 is a prime example of how accessibility gains to lower-income residents can be a
primary benefit of an urban rail investment when the unique needs of these residents are
considered up-front in the project development process. Lima Metro Line 2 promises to
increase access to jobs and other social services for all residents of the metropolitan region,
including low-income populations living in the periphery of the city. This benefit will be
realized primarily by reducing travel and waiting times for the large number of people
traveling along the metro corridor.

One indicator of regional accessibility used to evaluate the proposed Metro Line 2 is the
number of jobs reachable by public transport within a 60-minute one-way commute in the area
of influence of the alignment (see Map R1-1). This indicator was measured before (with 2014
as the baseline year) and will be measured after the project is completed using an impact
evaluation study. Once Metro Line 2 is completed and well-integrated with Metro Line 1 and
Metropolitano BRT, the number of jobs accessible within a 60-minute one-way trip is expected
to increase up to 25 percent.

Map R1-1. Overall Increase in the Number of Jobs Accessible by Public Transport in 60
Minutes: Lima Metro Line 2

Source: World Bank 2015, 86.

The indicator in Map R1-1 represents the number of all formal employment opportunities for
all categories of the population. It does not account specifically for the matching of certain types
of jobs to the skills and needs of lower-income groups, because such a level of detail is often not
available in existing data sources. However, as a proxy of such a disaggregate analysis, an
accessibility map can be superimposed on a map showing the location of lower-income (or
other) groups (see Map R1-2) to visualize potential distributional imbalances in accessibility
gains from the project. Then, as the project progresses the distributional impacts on different
groups can be considered in more detailed studies.

Following this good practice, the Metro Line 2 study considered not only the total regional
accessibility, but also the accessibility gains for low-income users. Map R1-2 illustrates how
changes in job accessibility brought by the construction of Metro Line 2 correspond with low-
income areas of the city. Lower-income areas on the periphery of the city expect to see some of
the greatest increases in access to job opportunities resulting from implementation of the new
metro line and its integration with Metro Line 1 and BRT services in Lima, Peru.

Map R1-2. Increase in the Number of Jobs Accessible by Public Transport in 60 Minutes
for Low-income Areas: Lima Metro Line 2

Source: Adapted from World Bank 2015.

Note: BRT = bus rapid transit

References:
World Bank. 2015. “Project Appraisal Document on a Proposed Loan in the Amount of US$300
Million to the Republic of Peru for a Lima Metro Line 2 Project.” World Bank,
Washington, DC.
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/782411468185352074/pdf/PAD1182-
REVISED-Box393191B -OUO-9-R2015-0168-2.pdf