The Economics of TransMilenio, a Mass Transit System for Bogota

Abstract

By the end of the 1990s, inefficiency, excess supply and low service quality characterized the mass transit system of Bogotá. The average travel time to work was one hour and ten minutes, obsolete buses provided public transport, traffic generated 70 percent of air pollution and there were frequent traffic accidents. To address all of these issues, the municipal and national governments designed and put in place a new mass transit system named TransMilenio (TM), which came into operation in January 2001. The purpose of this paper is to analyze Bogotá's mass transit system before and after TM, study the political economy of its adoption process and conduct a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of the first phase of the system. The new transit system is a hybrid model that combines public planning of the network structure, route tendering conditions, regulation and supervision, as well as private operation of the separated functions of revenue collection and transport service. The adoption of this new model needed to resolve delicate political economy issues that characterized private transport systems in many developing countries. The new organization had a sizeable impact on TM users' by improving traveling conditions significantly. In addition, congestion, pollution and traffic accidents plummeted in TM corridors. However, the type of transition adopted for the remaining transport corridors not covered by TM caused unforeseen negative spillovers, as a consequence of slow scrapping rates and bus and routes relocation. Consequently, although the CBA for the first phase of the corridors covered by TM is positive, once these additional measures are taken into consideration, the net effect is negative due primarily to increases in travel time for passengers using the traditional transport system. In order to minimize the negative spillovers during the full implementation of TM, expected to last until 2015, integration of the traditional and new systems should be carried on, and strict regulation of the traditional public transport system should be crafted.

Chemical Characterization and Source Apportionment of Household Fine Particulate Matter in Rural, Peri-urban, and Urban West Africa

“…Curbing and reducing this important source requires more stringent vehicle emissions standards, paving road surfaces, and inevitably a pro-poor public transportation system, as implemented in cities like Bogota. 30 Finally, there is some evidence from high-income countries that chemical characteristics of particles may be a determinant of toxicity above and beyond its mass and size distribution, although this question is the subject of ongoing research. 31−34 There is a need to study whether the differences in the chemical composition of PM across neighborhoods and areas affect their hazardous effects for human health.…”

Desatando o nó górdio: regulação e mobilidade urbana

“…Em suma, a experiência chilena mostra que a livre concorrência levou a um número de veículos acima do ótimo social e altas tarifas, dando suporte empírico às previsões do modelo de diferenciação vertical. Resultados semelhantes podem ser observados no processo de liberalização do setor promovido em Bogotá (Echeverry et al, 2004) e na periferia de Londres (Mackie, Preston e Nash, 1995).…”

Cities and Carbon Market Finance

“…The project was initiated by Enrique Peñalosa, who served as Mayor of Bogota in 1998-2000. At this time transportation was high on the political agenda, as the old public transit system was chaotic, average journey times were long and the quality of service was generally poor (Lleras, 2003;Echeverry et al, 2004). The objective of Transmilenio was to establish an "efficient, safe, rapid, convenient, comfortable and effective modern mass transit system ensuring high ridership levels" (UNFCCC, 2006a).…”

“…Prior to Transmilenio, the average commute time in Bogota was over one hour, accidents were frequent, and traffic was a major contributor to air pollution (Echeverry et al, 2004). The Transmilenio project provides multiple co-benefits, including reduced traffic, accidents and commuting times, and improved air quality.…”

“…These co-benefits include reduced traffic congestion, reduced electricity demand and pressure on the electricity grid -translating into greater local energy security, improved local air quality, and improved urban quality of life. For example, before the Transmilenio project was initiated the transportation system in Bogota was highly unsatisfactory (Echeverry et al, 2004). The Transmilenio rapid bus transit system increased public transport ridership and alleviated some of these traffic congestion and air quality problems.…”