COLOMBIA TRANSFORMING PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN LARGEST CITIES

UNCLAS BOGOTA 001467 DEPARTMENT FOR OES/ENV AND WHA/EPSC SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELTN SENV SOCI KGHG PGOV CO SUBJECT: COLOMBIA TRANSFORMING PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN LARGEST CITIES ¶1. Summary: Encouraged by the successful implementation of a bus rapid transit (BRT) system - locally known as TransMilenio - in Bogota, the GOC has launched an ambitious program to bring BRT to seven of Colombia's largest cities. While delays and cost overruns have complicated the effort, an estimated 19 million Colombians stand to gain by the end of 2010 from the economic, environmental, and quality of life benefits of improved urban transportation services. End summary. The Success of TransMilenio -------------- ¶2. After attempting at least ten times over the previous 60 years to construct a subway and then abandoning the effort due to high costs, the 2001 rollout of TransMilenio revolutionized Bogota's public transport. Modeled after a BRT system in Curitiba, Brazil, begun in the 1970s, TransMilenio features high-capacity buses running along dedicated lanes and stopping at designated stations with subway-like amenities such as pre-payment, level boarding, and real-time customer information. Faster, cleaner, and safer than the regular bus system it replaced, TransMilenio has resulted in travel time savings averaging 32 percent, a reduction in emissions of 40 percent, and a decrease in accidents of 67 percent. The system has done this while steadily increasing its capacity. Today, TransMilenio regularly carries 40,000 passengers per mile at subway-like speeds during rush hour and 30,000 people at non-peak times--loads similar to Mexico City's subway and three and a half times that of Washington's Metro--at one-ninth the estimated cost of a subway system. ¶3. Experts have also applauded the system's fiscal benefits. While public funds were necessary to construct the lanes and stations, fares cover bus purchases and all operations, cleaning, and maintenance with no public subsidies. The program has also proven the potential of public-private partnerships, with the public authorities responsible for system planning and supervision and private consortiums of bus operators owning, operating and maintaining the buses. Finally, the program drew in 5,300 informal sector bus operators that often did not pay taxes to create the registered bus consortiums that are now part of the taxpaying formal economy. GOC to Bring BRT to Seven Other Cities -------------- ¶4. Buoyed by TransMilenio's success, President Uribe offered assistance to seven other large Colombian cities--Medellin, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Bucaramanga, Pereira and Soacha. The plan called for 158 km of corridors at a cost of 1.3 billion USD. The GOC agreed to provide project management, technical assistance and contribute 70 percent of the financing costs, with local governments contributing the remainder. Similar to TransMilenio, the systems would utilize a public-private partnership designed to leverage the strengths of each: the private sector is responsible for equipment and operations, while the public sector provides the infrastructure and planning. ¶5. Ministry of Transportation (MinTran) Director of Transport and Transit Jose Enrique Pedraza told us the GOC decided to pursue BRT rather than subway systems in these cities based on faster construction phases and lower cost. BRT became the preferred solution particularly after Metro Medellin - currently Colombia's only Metro system - took 12 years to complete and cost USD 1.9 billion. Pedraza added that BRT is also more viable given that Colombia's construction sector is comprised of small firms with moderate expertise, rather than large specialized construction firms necessary for subway projects. Expansion Projects Hampered by Delays -------------- ¶6. Of the seven new BRT cities planned for operation by 2008, only Pereira's MegaBus and Cali's MIO have begun operation. MIO was delayed for months due to issues with the fare collection contractor and only finally opened in March 2009 using a limited network of 3 trunk routes. Most of system's transfer stations are also still under construction, though the project has already reached a cost of USD 542 million, or almost USD 200 million over the original budget. ¶7. According to Ignacio de Guzman Mora, Director at Akiris Consulting and project manager for TransMilenio's initial phase in Bogota, most BRT delays have occurred due to a lack of leadership. Citing MIO as an example, Guzman said the project manager has changed at least four times, while the leadership at MinTran changed eight times. Guzman also believes that several projects have incurred cost overruns because the city governments have used BRT funds to construct entire rights-of-way rather than just installing BRT infrastructure. Even Bogota used BRT money to construct ten regular traffic lanes alongside the two TransMilenio lanes in the main Avenue 30 corridor. As a result, current BRT construction costs are running at an average of USD 25 million per kilometer--five times more than initial cost projections. ¶8. Despite delays in bringing the other BRT systems online, MinTran's Pedraza told us the remaining projects are nearing completion. Barranquilla's TransMetro and Bucaramanga's MetroLinea are expected to enter operation in December 2009, while Medellin's MetroPlus is slated to start running in June 2010. Soacha's line--which is actually a TransMilenio extension from Bogota--is scheduled for completion by July 2010 and Cartagena's TransCaribe is expected to open in December 2010. Comment -------------- ¶9. While Bogota's successful TransMilenio system has proven more difficult to replicate than originally anticipated, the GOC's ambitious partnership with local governments and private operators offers a relatively low-cost, high-quality, and high-capacity solution for addressing the transport needs of Colombia's most congested and polluted cities. When completed late next year, the program stands to provide safer, cleaner and faster public transportation to almost 19 million, mostly low-income, Colombians. Beyond Colombia, the system, with proper leadership, could offer a public transport model for congested, polluted and resource-constrained cities worldwide. BROWNFIELD