Struggles for Sustainable Urban Development in Cochabamba, Bolivia

whatever the system’s failings, we believe it works better than any other “Metro”
system in the world (http://www.trufi.com, accessed July 2, 2004).
This is true in some senses. Even with its shortcomings the system provides very high service
frequencies and is easy to use. Most of the vehicles are old and in poor condition which
exacerbates their fuel consumption and air pollutant emissions but as such it is available to
most of the population and keeps the city running. In a privately operated service, issues
such as stricter emission standards or modernisation of vehicles would eventually be paid by
the customers. It should be carefully considered whether or not the citizens of Cochabamba
could afford them. Another social issue is the taxi traffic which is an unnecessary burden for
the city’s environment. The number of taxis far exceeds demand, meaning that most taxis
drive around the city empty, searching for customers. However, driving a taxi is also a means
of making a living for thousands of the city’s inhabitants. It is a popular way of avoiding
unemployment.
Political conflicts
The urban transport sector is a complex network of environmental, economic and social
issues. The present system is chaotic in many ways and environmentally unsustainable. Due
to growth in the number of vehicles the present problems are in danger of escalating further.
The problems call for changes and innovative planning. However, making such changes is
not a simple task since one needs to understand the politics behind Cochabamba’s urban
transport.
The biggest political conflicts in the sector have been between public transport drivers
belonging to transport federations and the so called ‘free’ drivers i.e. ones who have started
transport services of their own. The free transport has grown apart from the federated
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