Letter of transmittal
What’s going on in Bogotá in the year 2000
Where is all this going
To Conclude . . .
Annex A: CarFree Day in brief
Annex B: References
Endnotes
EcoPlan International
Technologie, économie, société
Paris,
6 June 2000
Dear
Colleague, As
you may know, earlier this year we had the good fortune to cooperate with the
mayor and the city of Bogotá to support them in organizing the first ever Car
Free Day in a Third World mega-city. It was a terrific, much debated high
profile event that has created a great deal of interest and spin-offs of many
kinds, as you will see in these pages.
But
as we have so often said, the goal of a car free day is not just to have a nice
time and enjoy some part of a city for a few relatively blissful and quiet
hours. The real objective is to provide those who care with an opportunity to
see their city and its transport arrangements with fresh eyes, and perhaps as a
result begin to gather their thoughts and resources to begin to do things a bit
differently. (In Bogotá the subtitle of the day was, “Let us imagine a new
city”… precisely!) Few of the European CFD projects thus far have dug in and
really tried to do this properly. But the Bogotá team got the message and took
that part of it very seriously -- and as a result came up with some interesting
findings and results which they are now busy implementing. (An example which,
incidentally, we can only hope will rub off on the Europeans as they gear up to
give the concept another spin next September.)
After
spending a hectic week in Bogotá, from which I have just returned and during
which I had a chance not only to present and analyze the results and findings
of the car free day from out international perspective, as well as to review
their plans and on-going actions which are intended to deal with the city’s
many and challenging transport-related problems and prospects, I sat down to
write up as best I could in the limited time available the results of my
observations and what I learned from my stay there. These you will find in the
following somewhat sprawling memo or, as I have decided to call it, ‘thinking
exercise’. My aim: to inform, and to
inspire thought and comment which can in turn help us to create something
rather better than this first draft.
You
will find that the draft is generally devoid of hard numbers and references.
Nor are there any graphics (yet), which is really a pity since there is a lot
of very interesting and I think increasingly convincing visual evidence which
points up that they are moving in the right direction. In parallel with the
on-going international expert review in which hopefully you are participating, we are working
to correct the most flagrant of these deficiencies and omissions.
In
the meantime, you have this draft which we put before you because you have
indicated that you would be willing to have a look and perhaps share with me in
turn your critical comments, corrections, amplifications and suggestions that
might help us do better in a later and more complete version. If you care about people, sustainable
transport and social justice, you will see that we owe a lot to the team who
are trying so hard to make this work in
Bogotá. And if we can help them in any
way, we should be trying to do so.
With thanks for your willingness to get
invovled. So many prefer not to. Eric
Britton
1.
The accomplishment: The Bogotá team are
building and putting into place what is rapidly developing into no less than a
whole new model for mobility (a) in their city and, incidentally (b) in Third
World cities more generally (and (c) quite possibly elsewhere as well). 2.
The goal: To create through a
highly participatory process a genuinely sustainable transportation system that
serves the multiple objectives of economic viability, quality of life,
environmental integrity, and social justice. 3.
The means: What is perhaps most striking about the
Bogotá project is not its many component parts – most of which are long known
to the leading edge thinkers in the field, well done and altogether appropriate
to the circumstances – but the energetic and ingenious way in which their team
is moving beyond the theory and rhetoric of sustainable transportation, to its
actual realization on the street and in the daily lives of those who live in
Bogotá. Thus, what is their main accomplishment is, above all, their
path-breaking exercise in what we have to call: the Politics of Sustainability.
It is for this reason above all that we all need to give especially careful
attention to what they are doing there.
There are valuable lessons for all to be learned. 4.
The background: But before we
begin to peer into this any further, let’s not forget the crushing reality of
the transportation situation that the people of Bogotá have to deal with on
their streets each and every day. It is, to use a mild phrase, close to hell on
earth out there. How can I describe it to you if you have not been there of
late? It’s epic. Words like out of
control, chaotic, careening, dangerous, dirty, confusing, demeaning, debilitating,
dehumanizing et al simply fail to convey the awful reality of the situation
that most of the 8 million inhabitants of the city face when they enter the traffic
stream. The poorer you are the worse it is. Try this for a life: Two tough
hours just to get to work on time, high incidence of respiratory infections[1], continuous
exposure to social violence, daily humiliation and no choice. Of course if you’re
in a nice car, a good driver who knows his way around, and a little luck, it’s
bearable. But even there you can be sure of a lively moment (“terrifying” may
be a better word) every couple of minutes or so. You can die of lots of stuff
out there in the traffic stream in Bogotá -- but no one, no one has ever died
of boredom. 5.
An alternative transportation system: It is not too much of an exaggeration to say
that their team, led by their passionate mayor Enrique Peñalosa, is for the first
time in a major Third World City laying the base for what is shaping up to be
no less than a full scale, 100% coverage, “alternative transportation system”
(i.e., one that will in a few years hopefully fulfill something like 98% of the
movement requirements of its population by arrangements other than people driving
around in their own cars). Now we have had a lot of theory and posturing on all
this (the “car free city”) over the years – but the team in Bogotá is actually
moving actively and with deliberation in that direction… putting in place the
various necessary bits and pieces of a full-function alternative transportation
and getting it into service. Just like that. 6.
Let me see if I can put this in other words in an attempt to make quite
sure that I am getting through on this critical point. The underlying point is
that certain cities, their city anyway, and perhaps many others in the Third
World, are either for cars -- or for people. But not for both. And the Peñalosa
team has decided that the Bogotá transportation system is going to be for
people. And not cars. It's that simple!! [2] 7.
We must be clear about one other point in this context. This is not
some kind of naive, isolated or extreme position on the part of the Bogotá
team. Their team is moving ahead with
substantial support from the leading edge of thinking and practice in the
international expert community (if not
yet as much as they deserve). In a way, in fact, what is presently underway in
Bogotá can be taken as a symbol of the new thinking that has begun to take over
in these circles in recent years. Indeed, the support of once less than supportive
institutions such as the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, UNDP and
other well placed international organizations has been crucial as part of this
process. 8. The driving force behind
all this is their mayor and his young team, though the obstacles they face are more
than one and far from trivial (including the constant threat of assassination
that he has to live with).
i.
But first, since no one has yet seen such a system in actual operation anywhere
before in the Third World, there are a lot of doubts, particularly in the press
and what can fairly be called the “opposition circles”, as to whether this can
be done. [3]
ii.
Then there is, as one might expect, considerable political resistance,
some of it on the grounds of a certain logic, but most on the grounds that the
“other party” is always wrong (without
forgetting, however, that the mayor has more than 80% of the population behind
him on this one). [4]
iii.
Next, there is the problem that he must at the end of the year turn
over his office to whoever it is who is elected on October 29th, and
who may in fact decide to try to reverse all that has been accomplished thus
far, for whatever reasons. [5]
iv.
As a result there is a major challenge in terms of the time available
over the remaining six months to get the basic plan built and fully in place.
In this respect there appears to be little room for error.
v.
And of course if all that were not enough there also is a war going on
there, then there is the whole drug situation, and finally, just to crown it
all. . .
vi.
A real economic crisis due to above all to some pretty rotten government
economic policies (in good part foisted on them by the draconian prescriptions
of the international financial community). So this will give you
the basic state of play in Bogotá this morning. All in all as you can see, not
an easy task. 9.
What Peñalosa and his team have going for them, on the other hand, are
a number of things, perhaps enough to give them a real shot at longer term
success.
i.
First, it just so happens that they in their basic thesis they are
right and profoundly so. The arguments for a non car-based transport system in
a place like Bogotá are simply overwhelming. It may be surprising, sound
puerile and idealistic, but no…. it’s the way to go!
ii.
Fortunately, there is enough experience, knowledge and capability available
at the leading edge of policy and practice in the world today to help them handle
the mobility and access problems of the city with a new set of integrated transport
alternatives. (Let me try this in other words: Over the last years, the concept
of sustainable transport and sustainable cities has advanced to the point where
there is now at least a base of understanding of the issues and eventual
solution sets that is there for anyone to draw on, if they chose to do so. Not
very many years ago, this was simply not the case.)
iii.
Third, there is the fact that the mayor is very smart, has fire in his
belly, and is a true and convincing leader. (He’s not perfect but then again,
who other than thee and me. And sometimes I wonder about….) Moreover, Mayor Peñalosa is publicly and
totally committed to the success of this whole venture. He is prepared to be
judged on the success of this initiative and
has at no time hidden behind ambiguous rhetoric or any other form of
political shield. It is his
project, he is the one who is behind it every day, and if it fails, well then
you will know where to go to make your complaints. This level of highest
personal commitment, energy and understanding of the issues is, in my view, one
of the main reasons why this amazing experiment is moving ahead.
iv.
Next, the mayor and his team are getting high level peer support, and
increasingly more than that, from the leading edge of the international transportation
and city planning community. You have some signs of this if you check out the
Bogotá International Guest Book (see ecoplan.org/carfreeday/) developed in
support of their first car free day last February, but the actual interest and
support in international transport and policy circles is in fact running far
deeper than even that.
v.
And finally, there is the level of talent, energy and commitment of the
teams behind this daring project. There are a lot of bright, committed people
there (most of them quite young), and they are responding to this leadership challenge
with enthusiasm and ability. 10.
The following may seem too simple and obvious, but let me anyway ask
your patience to set the stage for what follows by taking a minute to remind us
briefly of the basic building blocks of which a city transport system actually
consists. Abstracting from a city with
metros (which anyway is not our case here) these include:
i.
The city street network and its construction, management and maintenance
(including provision for all kind of vehicles, including non-motorized
movements and pedestrians).
ii.
Those other parts of the urban real estate that support the system
(mainly, parking and service faculties)
iii.
The vehicles out there on the street (private cars on the one hand, and
then a variety of other vehicles and ownership and use patterns)
iv.
The service and supply chain that keeps all those vehicles on the road
and moving.
v.
The people and groupings behind all that (again covering a range which
varies greatly from place to place of individuals, groups, agencies, etc.)
vi.
The institutional and legal context
vii.
And, increasingly, the electronic environment within which all this
takes place 11.
The Bogotá team is presently well into the process of creating a new
pattern of these building blocks to craft an entirely new alternative transport
structure, of which the following may be of interest to you and food for
thought:[6]
i.
The net thrust of their program is to take away street and other urban
space consistently and strategically from private cars -- and turn it over to
better and more productive uses. This is intended to be a key of the overall
continuing effort, not only in the present stage of work, but also in the
longer run. [7]
ii.
An aggressive program of parking control and constraint (that is
causing great howls but still going ahead).
iii.
The world’s best (in fact the only even half decent) even/odd car restraint
day, every day, which they call “Pico y Placa”. [8] [i]
iv.
A major and massive traffic calming, sidewalk construction, and pedestrian
pathing and protection scheme which is currently under construction throughout
the city. (The whole place is a construction site for all this stuff).
v.
A world-level bicycle transportation infrastructure of which more than
200 kms is either already in place or under construction. (The quality of this
program is very high, and financial and other provision is being made to ensure
that in addition to the infrastructure, there is also the broader supporting structure
that is needed to make sure this is gong to work.) [9]
vi.
A recent public announcement by the mayor subsequent to the car free
day of February 21st announcing
the decision not to take the planned new metro project any
further – on the grounds that (a) a metro in ten or fifteen years will solve not
a single one of today’s aching problems and priorities, and (b) they don’t
happen to have the $3 billion anyway that it would take to build it.[ii]
vii.
The Transmilenio is to provide the high capacity line haul capacity for
the city, starting already in this year and to be steadily expanded over the
next few years to create a city wide, fine mesh network offering high speed service
over the whole metropolitan area. Three lines and the first 200 articulated
buses are planned to be on line this year. The first line is to open in early
October. Construction is, of course, fully underway.
viii.
The 30,000+ buses, busetas, minibuses, and colectivos are a real
challenge and are to be the object of a major rehabilitation and overhaul
program. There is a huge amount of work that has to be accomplished if they are
to take their place as key components of the city’s sustainable transportation
system. Among the other targets: massive fleet renewal, huge emissions and
noise reductions (internal and external), accident reduction, passenger safety
improvements, driver training, route realignment and rationalization,
integrated ticketing, new services, greatly improved maintenance, improved work
conditions for all involved, job security and pay, etc.
ix.
The city’s 55,000-odd taxis offer another huge challenge to both policy
makers and to the operators. This process is under discussion, but it is likely
that major progress will have to await visible results in the rest of the system. There are some tough barriers (and some very
tough people) who have to be brought to the table and somehow made part of the
solution.
x.
How do you make all these bits and pieces work together in a harmonious
and transparent way that will facilitated “systemic” use of all the various
bits and pieces – through a unified fare policy, naturally! But where are they
in that important part of the whole. In process (I think) but not without
consciousness of the importance that this has in the broader scheme. So watch
this space.
xi.
A real problem, that is getting attention but which requires real resources,
has to do with the condition and maintenance of the existing street system, which
at present is in many places in pretty bad shape. In any city potholes are a
problem, but where streets are winding and mountainous, as they are in much of
Bogotá, and traffic is dense and very fast, potholes can and do become a major
source of the 500 or so traffic accidents that occur each and every day (only
100 or so of which get reported).
xii.
And where, you may well ask, is goods movement
in all this? The answer to that non-trivial question has several parts. First
and perhaps a bit surprising, both observation and the statistics indicate that
on the city streets at least trucks are not the main part of either the traffic
flow or the problem. You simply do not see all that many of them on the street.
That is not to say that there are not problems here as well, but the
overwhelming priorities at this stage have to do with moving people. At the
same time, it can be noted that the city’s planners are making provision to
rationalize and cut back in unnecessary truck movements, without threatening
the regional economy. But for now the thrust of policy is on finding ways to provide
better mobility and transportation conditions for people. 12.
That in a few short paragraphs is my appreciation of the highlights of
the traffic and transport situation in Bogotá as of the closing days of May
2000, as well as the outline of the city’s plan to attack the problems and deal
with them in an entirely new and highly innovative way.[10]
A
couple of general points of background on the Bogotá scene and plans and
accomplishments to get us going.
What’s going on in
Bogotá in the year 2000?
Where is all this going?
Back to top1.
Please don’t write off what is going on in Bogotá as a one shot, sui
generis, cowboy event. There is an excellent chance that they are in the
process of laying the base for a whole new model of transport for Third World
cities, building further on and going well beyond the Curitiba experience, to name one of the best known precursors.
(Peñalosa is every bit as far sighted, responsible and energetic as Jaime
Lerner, and he is well aware of the implications of what he is doing and the
fact that they stretch well beyond the single city of Bogotá.)
2.
As perhaps you know, the Bogotá program, via the Car Free Day project
of last February, is not only getting world level attention but is also a
winner of the Stockholm Challenge Award. This recognition is important both for
the mayor and the city in their efforts to make sure that their program
“sticks” (i.e., stays on track no matter who becomes the next mayor), and for
this approach as a ‘New Model for Transport Policy and Practice in Third World
Cities”.
3.
A next step in this process will be the second Car Free Day which is to
be organized on Thursday, 21 September, building on this first experience but
now going much further.
a.
One intention is to invite a number of mayors from other major Latin
American cities to come to Bogotá to observe and learn from the day, via a four
day workshop. [11]
b.
It is hoped that in addition to extending and building on the lessons
of the first Day and everything that will have been done since in terms of new
infrastructure development, it will be possible to open up the first
Transmilenio line, at least on a demonstration basis and, one would hope, free.
c.
We have already met with the national Ministry of the Environment who
have indicated that they will be willing to see what might be done to extend
the Day to other Colombian cities.
d.
There is a good possibility that a certain number of other cities
around the world will join in this event, making it the first @World Car Free
Day . [12]
e.
From the mayor’s perspective one of the critical roles of this second
car free day will be to prepare public opinion for the Referendum that is
planned to take place four weeks later. As a reminder the first Day got 87%
public approval in the polls, but at the same time showed a certain number of
weaknesses. Now that these are known, the Bogotá team is targeting to do even
better, in order to ensure that the vote will be overwhelming. And my guess is
that, tragedy aside, it will be.
4.
Massive Overhaul of the City Public Transport
Fleet:
a.
This is a particularly exciting opportunity that to my limited
knowledge is not as yet perhaps fully appreciated or targeted by the Bogotá
team (as much as anything else because they have their hands full with their
work in progress). But give them a bit of time. they will get there. They are
demonstrating their considerable abilities in the programs that are already in
full swing Let me sketch out a few of
my thoughts on this.
b.
The first step in this conceptual remapping of what is in fact the resource
base and eventual solution to this part of the puzzle – lies in tossing all the
available public vehicles into a single pile: all taxis and all the buses of
all sizes and types, and looking at them collectively as the fundamental
starting point of the future shared transport system of the city (hand in glove
with Transmilenio which is presently being sorted out and given a well defined
and critical backbone role).
c.
This means that the transport resource base we have to work with is something
on the order of 80,000+ vehicles of a huge range of types, sizes, conditions,
ownership arrangements, profitability, what have you.
d.
In most studies and reports in the past these are usually defined and
targeted as key parts of the problems of Bogotá’s transportation
system. I, by contrast, chose to view them as key parts of the SOLUTION. [13]
e.
Consider this: What we have here is basically one shared vehicle per
100 people living in Bogotá. That’s what they have today, and of course we also
know that there is a lot that is wrong with it as things presently stand. But
what if we work with these owners, drivers and the concerned public
institutions and agencies, and put real resources to bear on the problems; the
result might well be permutated into the Third World’s best city transport
system. If you crank through the numbers you find some intriguing
possibilities.
f.
This totally re-articulated, re-engineered, and in time renewed fleet
is for the most part going to be privately owned and operated. That’s simple
fact. A number of visiting experts have recommended that it would be desirable
to get them all off the street and have the whole mess replaced and run by a nice clean (and nicely deficitory)
publicly administered First World public
transit operation. These critics are twice wrong and flagrantly so in
this claim: First, because a “Northern model” classic public transport simply
could never meet the full spectrum of needs that are necessarily associated
with a high quality, no-car mobility system. And secondly, if you ever tried to
cut out the private ownership, you would have a revolution on your hands. And
it would not be the first time that a Third World government was toppled by a
desire to screw around with the transport sector.
g.
The restructuring of the shared transport system opens up a huge spectrum
of new opportunities for both service providers and other players capable of
getting in and offering new kinds of services, all while working with the
people who are already involved in hanging on to their bit of the turf.
h.
The end result will doubtless be that these eighty thousand old-style
and problematic vehicles will gradually morph into somewhere between ten and
twenty distinguishable types of vehicles and service arrangements, ranging all
the way from what will probably be a considerably smaller, more or less classic
‘yellow taxi’ fleet as presently exists, via combinations and permutations of
feeder systems, shared taxis, line taxies, specialized microbus services, new
age van pools, shuttle buses, and yet others, all working in close cooperation
with the ever expanding Transmilenio operations.
i.
One critical advantage that these new service arrangements are going to
enjoy is more and better access to street space. We can anticipate that as with
the Transmilenio, the public carriers are going to have increasing access to
reserved lanes and a variety of priorities which, combined together with the
continuing reductions of private cars on critical routes, are going to permit
them to move more quickly and with fewer accidents through the traffic stream.
That at least is the logical and necessary target.
j.
New, cleaner, safer and rather different kinds of vehicles. Better and
safer drivers, better trained and better paid. A much broader range of services
for the traveling public. And all of that increasingly mediated by new
information and communications technologies.
5.
Future Role Of Electronics and IT
a.
At present the electronics interface of the city’s transportation
system is pretty rudimentary. Traffic lights with some older generation control
technologies for the most part, plus radios in many of the taxis constitute the
bulk of what is presently in place. Not much.
b.
The Transmilenio represents the opening wedge in this technology revolution.
c.
And further more, if and when the players begin to get hold of the
needed restructuring and reengineering of those 80,000-plus vehicles that are
and will continue to be out on the street, there are going to be a steady
stream of new communications options opening up.
d.
There will be many opportunities to bring this stuff on line piece by
piece.
6.
Natural Gas: Given the special
environmental and air quality problems of the city, in combination with the
ready availability of natural gas and pretty good and reasonably cost effective
technologies available to put them into vehicles, this is surely an area which
is worth some thought and attention.
7.
Urban clustering and other planning
approaches to reduce transport needs: This too is an important element of the
Bogotá strategy, though at the present time, given the problems and urgency,
the bulk of the policy emphasis is on the other measures as outlined here.
8.
Carsharing for Bogotá ? As a long time proponent and supporter of
the concept of carsharing (see @World CarShare Consortium at
http://www.ecoplan.org/carshare), I nonetheless have not thus far made any
active suggestions about carsharing as part of the near term strategy for the
city, on the grounds that it might be too early for such a radical idea to take
hold in a place that still has such a strong status association with the good
old motor car. I have been taken to
task (kindly so) for this omission from Paul Barter of the SUSTRAN network
whose comments on this appear in the endnotes:[iii]
9.
Who wants this to fail? You might think that such a project would
have only allies in a poor, embattled city like Bogotá. After all the traffic
and environmental situation is one which is so grave, total systemic collapse
is right on the horizon, and the need for just this sort of massive and
sensible restructuring is clearly so enormous, so why would anyone wish it to
fail? Well the truth is that there are
a fair slice of people and interests who have come out publicly against this
project and the approach behind it -- and more yet who will tell you in private
that it’s a rotten idea and one that needs to be obliterated as quickly as
possible. I have heard intelligent and
responsible people characterize the entire project as a “populist scheme that
just can’t work”, “totally corrupt”, “going against all good senses”,
“anti-car”, “going to ruin the city”, “make it impossible for me to use my
car”, “ruin all commerce:, “dangerous because the streets are unsafe and we
need our cars for protection”, and the list goes on. There is also the usual
political rejection that occurs because this entire project is associated with
both the person of the mayor and his political party. Thus, anything he does
automatically becomes a candidate for removal when the new folks move is.[14]
10.
How to make it stick: This is without any
doubt in my mind the biggest challenge I see them facing now. As you have
hopefully seen, the basic plan is a strong one and their execution appears to
be on target.
a.
But what happens if another political party
or attitude about cars and transport in cities were to come in and try to
reverse all that has been accomplished thus far? And all that will still remain
to be done at the end of the year when the new administration comes to office.
b.
To my mind, there is one answer to this:
THERE MUST BE VISIBLE AND CONVINCING RESULTS!. If enough of those cycle paths
are out there and carrying large numbers of people to school and work each day,
if the first Transmilenio lines are up and moving passengers through the
traffic stream at good speeds and comfortably, if enough sidewalks have been
built and enough cars been cleared off them so that there is tangle proof that
this is working. . . than all this is going to be very difficult to
reverse. And if not… well, not.
11.
Proposed Referendum: The
Mayor is currently examining the possibility of calling a popular referendum on
29 October asking Bogotans how they want the Bogotá of 2015 to look in
terms of its transportation arrangements.
The idea is to use such a popular vote to build in a kind of citizens'
guarantee and pressure to keep the program in place. One idea being considered
is to call for constructions of a certain number of lanes for Transmilenio
every year, kilometers of cycle-paths, a CFD every year, etc., together with a
regular extension and strengthening of the Pico y Placa scheme to phase out in
stages ever more cars during those key peak periods. The longer term
goal? A city without cars.
12.
World Transport Policy & Practice: A special issue of
the Journal of World Transport Policy and Practice is planned in December that
will be entirely devoted to the Bogotá Challenge. It will be a major number and
get broad distribution publicity around the world. We hope that this is going
to provide increased international understanding and support for the Bogotá
initiative. [15]
13.
The Stockholm Challenge Prize: In this context,
something like the Stockholm Challenge Prize, which was awarded to the city of
Bogotá and EcoPlan on the 5th of June for socio-technical innovation
in ways which combine new technology and new thinking on major environmental
and life quality issues, has particular relevance in several respects. The presence of the mayor of Bogotá in
Stockholm at the center of this important international event will give him an
opportunity to show the world something about the way his city is looking and
facing these difficult challenges (this being a critical part of the “Bogotá
Challenge”). It will also be an occasion for him to issue his Challenge to
other cities of the Third World and beyond to take a fresh look at their own
transportation situations and to seek to break many of the old bottlenecks,
including in new and often unexpected ways. Thus, this international award and
event have become part of the solution process for Bogotá.
To conclude . . .
On February 24th, 2000 the city of Santa Fe
de Bogotá, Colombia's capital, organized its first-ever Car Free Day. After a
full month of intensive planning, public discussion and preparation, it was
held on a Thursday,
a normal day of the week like any other -- with of course one small exception
this time around. Bogotá is a fast growing city of some seven
million inhabitations, a delicate ecosystem, already more cars and traffic than
it can handle, and in dire need of a new transport game plan. The fifth most
polluted city in Latin America, where automobiles account for 70 percent of all
air pollution: 700 tons of carbonic gas, 57 tons of hydrocarbons, 24 tons of
nitrogen oxide and two tons of sulfuric monoxide every day, it was the first
major Third World city to give this innovative but challenging concept a try. The city
went about its business as usual on Thursday, 24 February 2000 – with the exception
that between 6:30 in the morning and 19:30 in the evening an estimated 800,000
private cars stayed at home. ·
People got around on the 24th by a
combination of walking, skating, running, cycle, other two-wheel transport, and
public transport, including 55,000 taxis and around 25,000 small buses
(colectivos). ·
More than 250 km. of special paths were reserved for
bicycle use on the day. ·
Fines for illegal car use in target area totaled 406
over the day. This compares with average of 930 for the city’s (excellent and
innovative) ‘alternative odd/even day scheme: 'Pico y placa'. Scoreboard
results: o
Traffic Accidents: 27 reported accidents (on an average day this number is around
100) o
Traffic deaths: 0 (On an average day this is in the
area of 2-3. First time in four years that no one died in traffic) o
Traffic injuries: 24. 8 of which slight accidents
involving cyclists (Average day – 70-80) o
Hospital emergency services: Reported 20-30% decrease
in usual admissions o
Environment agency reported 8% reduction in nitrous
oxides o
22% reduction of carbon monoxide levels o
21% reduction in particulates o
School absences: Average day reported by each of 20
administrative centers for the region (a poll of El Tiempo reported normal
attendance levels in schools and universities across the city) §
There were
indications of dissatisfaction by some local businesses, though no unusual problems
of employee attendance were reported. (This is surely an area in which further
consultation and fine tuning is needed.) o
One month of planning, consultation, preparations and
media campaigns were carried out to prepare the Car Free Day, under the
direction of the Office of Mayor, with the cooperation of all concerned local,
regional and national organizations. (Some fine tuning was required during the
day to adjust for specific problems as they occurred.) o
More than one hundred international experts and
political figures were brought together by The Commons and EcoPlan in support
of all aspects of the Day over the month of preparatory work and
consultation. The International Guest
Book was signed by more than 70 leading figures in the transport and
environmental fields, including Ministers, Secretaries of State, European
Commissioners, Members of Parliaments, professors, consultants, and others (see
the Bogotá Guest Book under The Commons site at http://ecoplan.org/carfreeday/) o
The preparation for the event and the Day itself were
covered by radio and television, more than 100 articles appeared in the
national and international press, and two Web sites were set up to support the
planning and implementation process (go to http:ecoplan.org/carfreeday/ for
both). o
An independent poll showed a high degree of citizen
satisfaction. 87% of those polled indicated
that they agreed with the idea of a Car Free Day o
88% of those
polled indicated that they thought that such days should be organized more
regularly, half of whom suggested once a month. [For more on this you may wish to check out the draft report and notes on Car Free Day
results which is freely available at
http://www.egroups.com/files/carfreeday/%3CB%3EBogota+Car+Free+Day/April+report+and+commentary.PDF]
[1] Peñalosa
makes the point that in Bogotá you can smoke three packages of cigarettes a
day, without even opening up the box. [2] There
has over the last decade or so been a great deal of posturing and soft-headed
writing and posturing around on this topic, often uniformed, usually quite
shrill, and almost always quite irritating. But… and this is where the irony
comes in, in this case that’s exactly the choice. YOU QUITE SIMPLY CANNOT DO BOTH!
The trick is, however, to find the way to move from theory to
practice. And that is what is going on
in Bogotá today. [3] You can get a taste of this
from the program, accomplishments and attitudes in Zurich (see the article
“Three Messages from Zurich concerning the new transport policy” which is
available in our site The Politics of Sustainability at www.ecoplan.org/politics, click Thinkpiece).
Of course everyone then says, “well that’s Zurich and you know…”. To which we
and Peñalosa respond: “Well that’s Zurich and WE know”. [4] See poll results of the last
car free day (at www.ecoplan.org/carfreeday). [5] This in my view is among the
greatest test the mayor faces in these last months of his term, since the
pressure of time is preventing him from being as consultative as such programs
should at best be. But he simply has no time so much forge ahead with his
(excellent) idea. This means that he inevitably is going to make mistakes and
in the process possibly lose some people. But as he sees it (and I think
correctly) there is simply no choice. The basic system has to be up, working
and credible by the end of this year and his term. Otherwise. . . [6] Please do
not take this as an attempt to report in a comprehensive and authoritative way
on the many things that are presently going on in the city to deal with their
problems of mobility and urban amenity. There are many projects, programs and
challenges which are not covered in this entirely personal and eclectic
overview. I can in time try to provide references that will help you if you
wish to have more and perhaps more solid information and insight on all this.
But this note still has a job to do, as I hope you will now see and appreciate. [7] The mayor has announced that
he intends to call a major referendum in the city on October 29 in parallel
with the local elections, where a detailed, overriding legal framework will be
created that will literally do away with ALL private car travel in peak periods
in Bogotá in specific steps over a total of 15 years (to give everyone enough
time to adjust). The final objective: on January 1, 2015 there will be ZERO
cars permitted anywhere in the entire city in peak hours. ZERO! [8] For details on how this
works, see the end notes, But God only knows
how they managed to take what has to be the world’s most feeble car reduction
strategy, odd/even, and make of it something that works and works very well
indeed. This considerable accomplishment is a real testimony to their
thoughtfulness and capabilities to make this work. To appreciate this you have
to have some familiarity with two things: (a) how badly the basic idea has
worked in every other place it has been tried, and (b) how successful it is in Bogotá
where it is creating a visibly improved mobility environment during peak hours
every day of the week. NOBODY ELSE HAS DONE THIS!!! [9] Both the cycle and pedestrian
schemes are managed as part of a considerably broader “public spaces” program
that reaches out to include such things as small parks, tree planting programs,
street furniture, and other forms of public space amenity and use. [10] Caveat:
Let’s keep in mind in all this however that, bad as it is in many respects, it
is also possible, if we proceed without the necessary care, that the overall
transportation and amenity situation can be made even worse. All too easily.
Warts and all, danger and injustice in all, today’s system does somehow manage
to provide something on the order of 20 million plus trips per day to the
citizens of Bogotá. So, our objective must be not to make conditions worse for
people (which there are a number of ways of doing, many of them with the best
of intentions), but to move in secure sensible steps to a better, fairer, safer
more sustainable transportation system.
That is what the Bogotá team is now working on. Not in theory, but out there on the streets
of their city. [11] We have, in fact, had a major
role in drawing up this part of the next stage plan, and are presently looking
for funds that will permit the cash-strapped city to extend these invitations
and to cover the expenses of the workshop. There are, one might point out, some
interesting sponsorship possibilities there for any groups who might wish to be
associated with such a program. Ahem! [12] For the record, it is
important to distinguish this kind of Car Free Day approach from the much
milder version that is presently being played with in parts of Europe and which
will in fact take place as limited demonstrations in a certain number of cities
the following day. (We call these “low peturbance” or “Car Free Lite” days, as opposed to the much deeper and more
difficult and far reaching approach that we are seeing in cities like Bogotá. [13] Many of the
consultancy and technical reports that we have reviewed on the subject recommend
such things as: “get rid of the microbuses”,
“reduce and rationalize the number of buses”, “the city has at least
twice as many taxis as needed”, and the like. Understandable enough counsel perhaps in a first instance. But not in a
second and upon mature reflection. . Not to be cruel, but somehow it seems as
if what these planners and critics have in mind is to make of Bogotá (and the
other cities of the Third World) something on the order of the transport
equivalent of Corbu’s Ville Radieuse. Flat, uniform, imposed, administered,
mechanical. But that’s not the way things are, or the way they are going to be.
[14] A part of
the resistance can fairly be said to come from the “Country Club” set. In this
case, this is not an entirely figurative expression, since in fact the mayor is
also hard at work at buying out a beautiful park in the center of the city
which for years has been housed the most exclusive country club in Bogotá. The
plan is to open this up for free public use.
As you might guess, not everyone in town is in love with his project. [15] The Journal
will be organized in two main parts: a report from Bogotá which spells out the
what, how and why of their project. And then an international commentary (for
which perhaps you will have some ideas.)Annex A: The Bogotá Car Free Day in BriefAnnex B: ReferencesLocal and National Media:
Endnotes