Implementing urban transport in Colombia (English)

This Results Profile focuses on transport in Colombia. Public transportation in Colombia was traditionally perceived as inefficient, unsafe, and polluting. The streets of Colombian cities were crowded with obsolete buses which operated with disregard ...  See More + This Results Profile focuses on transport in Colombia. Public transportation in Colombia was traditionally perceived as inefficient, unsafe, and polluting. The streets of Colombian cities were crowded with obsolete buses which operated with disregard for public safety and in near chaos, without organized bus stops. In 1996, the government decided to create the Programa Nacional de Transporte Urbano supported by International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) financing. The program centered its strategy on the development of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), which achieves urban mobility at a fraction of the cost of rail systems. The most famous BRT system is Bogotá’s Transmilenio, conceptualized in 1998. Each day close to 1.4 million passengers, approximately 27 percent of the city’s public transport demand, benefitted from the Transmilenio in Bogotá. Riders of the two other complete BRT systems, Megabus, Pereira and Mio-Cali, have significantly improved their daily lives, benefiting from an organized, regulated, modern, and reliable public transportation system that utilizes a modern fleet and less polluting fuels. Since its inception, delegations from more than 20 countries have visited Colombia to learn about the program. Similarly, multi-city transport programs were being developed in other countries such as Mexico and Argentina with direct IBRD involvement and there had been a significant collaboration and sharing of knowledge between Colombia and other developing countries.  See Less -

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