I recently returned from a trip to the Galápagos. As part of that trip, we spent a few days in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. That’s when I discovered that Quito has recently opened a brand-new subway system. The Metro de Quito became operational in December 2023, and I was curious enough to ride it.
I paid $0.45 for a ride. The station was spotless, the signage clear, and the train was modern — easily on par with metros I’ve used in Europe. It felt safe, efficient, and quiet. Honestly, it was amazing. So I started asking:
- How long did this take to build? → 14 years, from early planning in 2009 to full operation in 2023.
- How much did it cost? → About $2 billion USD.
Then I asked myself a harder question: How does that compare to BART’s extension into San José?
Side‑by‑Side Comparison
| Metric | Quito Metro (Line 1) | BART San José Extension (BSVII) |
| Length | ~14 mi | ~6.1 mi |
| Stations | 15 | 4 |
| Total capital cost | ~$2.009 billion | ~$12.75 billion (FTA) |
| Cost per mile | ≈ $143 million | ≈ $2 billion |
| Opening date | December 2023 | Projected ~2036 (planning started in 2001. So… 35 years) |
| Underground | Entirely underground | Mostly underground (single-bore tunnel) |
Quito built over twice the distance, with more than triple the number of stations, for 1/6th the cost.
There isn’t a single “egregious” factor alone that makes the BART San José extension cost more than 10 times as much per mile as Quito’s metro—no one is getting paid 10x more, and material prices or engineering alone don’t explain it. Rather, it’s the combination of many issues: civil projects in the US tend to have much more complex management structures with layers of consultants and supervisors, more restrictive regulations, fragmented contracting, slow timelines, higher land and utility relocation costs, and an often risk-averse “do everything by the book” approach that multiplies costs at every step. While wages are somewhat higher, studies show staff bloat—too many managers and required workers per task—produces much larger cost overruns than pay rates alone. This all adds up to create costs vastly higher than in cities using simpler, more streamlined processes and contracts. Some of these factors are choices. We could choose to build differently.
Something is really wrong here.
When a capital city in a middle-income country builds a beautiful, functional, underground metro for $2B, and we’re spending over $12B to extend a system six miles under Santa Clara Street, you have to stop and ask some serious questions.
References
- https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099122223042514805/pdf/P1444891787e1b0601b95112c4ab83bc490.pdf
- https://www.mainspring.co.uk/industry-news/quito-opens-its-metro-to-passengers/
- https://www.acciona.com/updates/news/ecuador-inaugurates-quito-subways-line-1-built-by-acciona
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quito_Metro_Line_1
- https://www.railway.supply/the-first-subway-line-was-put-into-operation-in-the-capital-of-ecuador/
- https://www.hsrail.org/blog/why-transit-projects-cost-more-in-the-u-s-than-almost-anywhere-else-and-what-we-can-do-about-it/
- https://transitcosts.com/transit-costs-study-final-report/
- https://www.marketplace.org/story/2019/04/11/subways-us-expensive-cost-comparison
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