Global Compact International Yearbook 2016

URBAN MOBILITY
BoGotÁ: tHe traNSMIleNIo UrBaN traNSportatIoN
Nobody thought it would be so extremely
successful: When the city of
Bogotá (Colombia) started planning
transMilenio, there was no public bus
transport system able to carry 20,000
passengers per hour. But that is what
was necessary to relieve the gridlock
on the streets of the Colombian capital.
City planners therefore had to invent a
real breakthrough in terms of capacity
and had to think completely outside
of the box.
they did, and today transMilenio is
regarded as a best practice worldwide
and a true blueprint for many megacities
with similar traffic challenges.
Future goals include replacing all of
the city’s diesel fleet with hybrid and
electric buses, electrifying the entire
taxi fleet, and adding a new metro line.
Fernando rojas, Deputy General Manager
of transMilenio, explains: “trans-
Milenio is successful not only as a
transport system but also as an image
of the city. today we have concluded
two phases that have 84 kilometers of
exclusive bus lanes. We have 104 bus
stations. the benefits are numerous.
First there are social benefits. the
average user now saves up to 40 minutes
a day. If we compare what used
to be the bus lines 10 years ago to
those today, the carbon emissions have
dropped 98 percent.”
“the growth of the transMilenio system
continues to be a step-by-step process,”
rojas says. “It will continue with the
addition of new bus fleets and with
the extension of new kilometers of
exclusive lanes. today we are organizing
transportation around the city
of Bogotá so that transMilenio can
be integrated in various ways. We will
be integrated through the payment
method. We are going to be integrated
through the infrastructure. and we will
also be integrated in terms of communication
with the users.”
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Global Compact International Yearbook 2016