TransMilenio
Encyclopedia
TransMilenio is a bus rapid transit
system that serves Bogotá
, the capital of Colombia
. The system opened to the public in December 2000, covering Av. Caracas and Calle 80. Other lines were added gradually over the next several years, and today 9 lines totalling 84 km (54 mi) run throughout the city.
Inspired by Curitiba
's 1974 original transportation system, TransMilenio consists of several interconnecting BRT lines, each composed of numerous elevated stations in the center of a main avenue, or "troncal". Passengers typically reach the stations via a bridge over the street. Usually, four lanes down the center of the street are dedicated to bus traffic. There are both express and local buses, the latter stopping in every station to pick up passengers. The outer lanes allow express buses to bypass buses stopped at a station.
Users pay at the station entrance via a smart card, pass through a turnstile, and await the arrival of the bus inside the station, which is typically 5 m wide. The bus and station doors open simultaneously, and passengers board by simply walking across the threshold. Like a subway system, the elevated station platform and the bus floor are at the same height.
The buses are diesel
-powered, purchased from such manufacturers as the Colombian-Brazilian company Marcopolo
-Superior, German conglomerate Mercedes-Benz
, and Scandinavian based companies as Volvo
and Scania
. The buses are articulated
(split into two sections with an accordion-like rotating middle to allow for sharp turns) and have a capacity of 160 passengers. In May 2007, a new, larger bus, with capacity for 270 passengers, was presented to the public. This bus has three sections with two articulations and will be used in phase III. TransMilenio buses are not equipped with transponders to give them traffic signal priority, a regret voiced by the general manager of the system, Angelica Castro.
As of May 2010, up to 1,500 buses were circulating on the troncal system and the fare is 1600 Colombian peso
s for a single trip (about EUR
0.60 or USD
0.85, as of November 2011). Cards use a contactless smart card
(MIFARE
) system, and multiple trips may be purchased for one card. Most users are distrustful, and only purchase one or two trips at a time due to problems with the cards at the launch of the system. Although the technical problems have been fixed, there are no financial incentives (discounts) for multiple purchases or public education campaigns (despite what urban planning consultants recommended).
An additional set of 410 regular buses, known as "feeders" (alimentadores, in Spanish
), transport users from certain important stations to many different locations that the main route does not reach. Unlike the main TransMilenio buses, feeders operate without dedicated lanes, are not articulated and are green (regular TransMilenio buses are red). There is no additional fare to use the feeder buses.
Bogotá has many bicycle paths built throughout the city in conjunction with TransMilenio. Five percent of trips in Bogotá today are by bicycle. TransMilenio stations at each end of a line have huge bicycle parking
facilities to facilitate bicyclists using the system.
(TRB) Report, the construction cost for the first phase of 41 km was US$240 million, or US$5.9 million/km. The system is overseen by a public body, which awards contracts to private bus companies on a competitive basis. According to TRB, private contractors are paid based upon the total number of kilometers that their vehicles operate.
Daily ridership quickly reached 800,000 after the system opened. TransMilenio has since been expanded and ridership in early 2006 was 1,050,000 daily, and in 2009 was 1,400,000 daily. Seventy-five percent of Bogotaans rate the system as good or very good.
Eventually, there is a plan to build 388 km of route, which will provide a very dense network of rapid transit for an urban area with an estimated land area of approximately 500 km2. For example, Madrid
covers nearly as much land area and has one of the most dense Metro systems in the world, with approximately 230 km of route. TRB reports that the 388 km system is projected to cost $3.3 billion, only 10% more than a previously proposed Metro of 30 km would have cost.
Most Bogotans have found Transmilenio to be an improvement over previous bus service. An independent survey in 2005 reported that a majority of respondents thought the new bus system superior, and only 15% thought it worse. Transmilenio was also found faster and more convenient than other competing transport choices. When asked about problems, many survey takers complained about overcrowded buses. Between 20 and 30% cited pickpockets and long wait times as problems.
As in any other highly crowded area, users of TransMilenio must be aware that when riding the system they are exposed to pickpockets. Isolated instances of people getting mugged have been reported as well. Security on buses and in stations is handled by police officers employed by the city. However, most of the time the officers assigned are recently graduated high school students serving their mandatory year with the armed forces ('Policía Bachiller'). Higher ranking officers are assigned as supervisors and respond when a Policía Bachiller requests assistance.
The price of the ticket is 1700 Colombian peso
s (approximately US $
0.85) which is more expensive than a ticket of a metro system like Buenos Aires
. This has not prevented the buses from being congested even during non-peak times.
Since the May 2006 expansion, the TransMilenio Route System changed dramatically, with new sections added to the system. Instead of being numbered, routes have a combination of letters and numbers. In order to fill the information gap, TransMilenio made available an interactive guide http://www.surumbo.com that includes routes, stations, nearby places and routes combination, in a simple and efficient form.
New lines are being constructed including one in Calle 26 (Downtown-West (Airport)) and the other in Carrera 10 (Downtown-South). They should become operational in the first semester of 2011.
It is under consideration to start constructing a new line in Carrera 7 (North-Downtown), which has been criticized as there are certain parts in which the system might not fit.
There are five types of stations:
All stations have electronic boards announcing the approximate arrival time of the next bus. Wait times are short as there is usually a bus serving the station. There are also station attendants to provide assistance to the passengers, and posted system maps.
oversaw the construction of the initial TransMilenio system, which took only three years to complete from its conception to opening. The mayor created a special company to build the project and run the central system. The operational design of TransMilenio was undertaken by transport consultants Steer Davies Gleave. The international consulting firm McKinsey & Co. was hired as the project manager and leading local investment bank Capitalcorp S.A. was assigned the financial structuring of the project. Most of the money required to build TransMilenio was provided by the Colombian central government, while the city of Bogotá provided the remaining 30%.
The system opened in December 2000. A second phase has been completed, and a third is underway. Other cities are building systems modeled on Transmilenio, for example Mexico City.
TransMilenio stations comply with easy access regulations because they are elevated and have ramps leading to the entrance. The alimentadores (Feeders) are normal buses without handicapped accessibility. A lawsuit by disabled user Daniel Bermúdez caused a ruling that all feeder systems must comply with easy access regulations by 2004, but this has not happened yet.
Some of the larger bus companies, which participate in TransMilenio, also retired their conventional bus lines during the strike. Public transportation ground to a halt in much of the city, though TransMilenio and a number of other buses continued operating they could not cope with all of the demand. Acts of individual intimidation and violence against some private vehicles, TransMilenio and conventional buses occurred during the strike, as well as clashes between some of the strikers and the police.
Bogotá's Mayor
Luis Eduardo Garzón rejected the strike, firmly defended all of the measures as necessary for the city's transportation future, and stated that he was only willing to discuss the specific details of their implementation, as well as a further democratization of TransMilenio's operations, after the situation calmed down. During the second and final day of the strike, the local administration, the strikers and their companies agreed to begin talks.
During the strike, some protests included users of TransMilenio who complained because the buses were passing at a very low frequency. Several stations became so filled up that some people fell from them into the street. Even after the strike ended, some TransMilenio passengers have subsequently protested because they still find different aspects of the system to be inefficient and uncomfortable.
Bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
system that serves Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, the capital of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. The system opened to the public in December 2000, covering Av. Caracas and Calle 80. Other lines were added gradually over the next several years, and today 9 lines totalling 84 km (54 mi) run throughout the city.
Description
Curitiba
Curitiba is the capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is the largest city with the biggest economy of both Paraná and southern Brazil. The population of Curitiba numbers approximately 1.75 million people and the latest GDP figures for the city surpass US$61 billion according to...
's 1974 original transportation system, TransMilenio consists of several interconnecting BRT lines, each composed of numerous elevated stations in the center of a main avenue, or "troncal". Passengers typically reach the stations via a bridge over the street. Usually, four lanes down the center of the street are dedicated to bus traffic. There are both express and local buses, the latter stopping in every station to pick up passengers. The outer lanes allow express buses to bypass buses stopped at a station.
Users pay at the station entrance via a smart card, pass through a turnstile, and await the arrival of the bus inside the station, which is typically 5 m wide. The bus and station doors open simultaneously, and passengers board by simply walking across the threshold. Like a subway system, the elevated station platform and the bus floor are at the same height.
The buses are diesel
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
-powered, purchased from such manufacturers as the Colombian-Brazilian company Marcopolo
Marcopolo S.A.
Marcopolo S.A. is a bus manufacturer founded on August 6, 1949, in the southern Brazilian city of Caxias do Sul, state of Rio Grande do Sul. The company manufactures the bodies for a whole range of coaches, e.g. microbus, intercity and touring coach...
-Superior, German conglomerate Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
, and Scandinavian based companies as Volvo
Volvo
AB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...
and Scania
Scania AB
Scania Aktiebolag , commonly referred to as Scania AB or just Scania, is a major Swedish automotive industry manufacturer of commercial vehicles - specifically heavy trucks and buses...
. The buses are articulated
Articulated bus
An articulated bus is an articulated vehicle used in public transportation. It is usually a single-deck design, and comprises two rigid sections linked by a pivoting joint...
(split into two sections with an accordion-like rotating middle to allow for sharp turns) and have a capacity of 160 passengers. In May 2007, a new, larger bus, with capacity for 270 passengers, was presented to the public. This bus has three sections with two articulations and will be used in phase III. TransMilenio buses are not equipped with transponders to give them traffic signal priority, a regret voiced by the general manager of the system, Angelica Castro.
As of May 2010, up to 1,500 buses were circulating on the troncal system and the fare is 1600 Colombian peso
Colombian peso
The peso is the currency of Colombia. Its ISO 4217 code is COP and it is also informally abbreviated as COL$. However, the official peso symbol is $. As 20 July 2011, the exchange rate of the Colombian peso is 1750 Colombian pesos to 1 U.S. dollar.-History:The peso has been the currency of Colombia...
s for a single trip (about EUR
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
0.60 or USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
0.85, as of November 2011). Cards use a contactless smart card
Contactless smart card
A contactless smart card is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits that can process and store data, and communicate with a terminal via radio waves. There are two broad categories of contactless smart cards. Memory cards contain non-volatile memory storage components, and perhaps...
(MIFARE
MIFARE
MIFARE is the NXP Semiconductors-owned trademark of a series of chips widely used in contactless smart cards and proximity cards. According to the producers, billions of smart card chips and many millions of reader modules have been sold...
) system, and multiple trips may be purchased for one card. Most users are distrustful, and only purchase one or two trips at a time due to problems with the cards at the launch of the system. Although the technical problems have been fixed, there are no financial incentives (discounts) for multiple purchases or public education campaigns (despite what urban planning consultants recommended).
An additional set of 410 regular buses, known as "feeders" (alimentadores, in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
), transport users from certain important stations to many different locations that the main route does not reach. Unlike the main TransMilenio buses, feeders operate without dedicated lanes, are not articulated and are green (regular TransMilenio buses are red). There is no additional fare to use the feeder buses.
Bogotá has many bicycle paths built throughout the city in conjunction with TransMilenio. Five percent of trips in Bogotá today are by bicycle. TransMilenio stations at each end of a line have huge bicycle parking
Bicycle parking
Bicycle parking involves the infrastructure and equipment to enable secure and convenient parking of bicycles...
facilities to facilitate bicyclists using the system.
Costs, ridership, and impact
According to a United States Transportation Research BoardTransportation Research Board
The Transportation Research Board is a division of the National Research Council, which serves as an independent adviser to the President, the Congress and federal agencies on scientific and technical questions of national importance...
(TRB) Report, the construction cost for the first phase of 41 km was US$240 million, or US$5.9 million/km. The system is overseen by a public body, which awards contracts to private bus companies on a competitive basis. According to TRB, private contractors are paid based upon the total number of kilometers that their vehicles operate.
Daily ridership quickly reached 800,000 after the system opened. TransMilenio has since been expanded and ridership in early 2006 was 1,050,000 daily, and in 2009 was 1,400,000 daily. Seventy-five percent of Bogotaans rate the system as good or very good.
Eventually, there is a plan to build 388 km of route, which will provide a very dense network of rapid transit for an urban area with an estimated land area of approximately 500 km2. For example, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
covers nearly as much land area and has one of the most dense Metro systems in the world, with approximately 230 km of route. TRB reports that the 388 km system is projected to cost $3.3 billion, only 10% more than a previously proposed Metro of 30 km would have cost.
Most Bogotans have found Transmilenio to be an improvement over previous bus service. An independent survey in 2005 reported that a majority of respondents thought the new bus system superior, and only 15% thought it worse. Transmilenio was also found faster and more convenient than other competing transport choices. When asked about problems, many survey takers complained about overcrowded buses. Between 20 and 30% cited pickpockets and long wait times as problems.
As in any other highly crowded area, users of TransMilenio must be aware that when riding the system they are exposed to pickpockets. Isolated instances of people getting mugged have been reported as well. Security on buses and in stations is handled by police officers employed by the city. However, most of the time the officers assigned are recently graduated high school students serving their mandatory year with the armed forces ('Policía Bachiller'). Higher ranking officers are assigned as supervisors and respond when a Policía Bachiller requests assistance.
The price of the ticket is 1700 Colombian peso
Colombian peso
The peso is the currency of Colombia. Its ISO 4217 code is COP and it is also informally abbreviated as COL$. However, the official peso symbol is $. As 20 July 2011, the exchange rate of the Colombian peso is 1750 Colombian pesos to 1 U.S. dollar.-History:The peso has been the currency of Colombia...
s (approximately US $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
0.85) which is more expensive than a ticket of a metro system like Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
. This has not prevented the buses from being congested even during non-peak times.
Routes and stations
TransMilenio has 9 routes serving 114 stations in the city of Bogotá:- Caracas between Calle 76
Calle 76 (TransMilenio)The simple-station Calle 76 is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000.-Location:The station is located in northern Bogotá, specifically on Avenida Caracas, between Calles 74 and 76.-History:...
and Tercer MilenioTercer Milenio (TransMilenio)The simple-station Tercer Milenio is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000.-Location:The station is located in downtown Bogotá, specifically at Avenida Caracas and Calle 6.-History:...
: 14 stations - Autonorte between Portal del Norte
Portal del Norte (TransMilenio)Portal del Norte is one of the terminus stations of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, which opened in the year 2000.-Location:Portal del Norte is located in northern Bogotá, specifically on Autopista Norte with Calle 175....
and HéroesHéroes (TransMilenio)The simple station Héroes is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000.-Location:The station is located in northern Bogotá, specifically on the Autopista Norte with Calle 80....
: 15 stations - Suba between Portal de Suba
Portal de Suba (TransMilenio)El Portal de Suba is one of the terminus stations of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, which opened in the year 2000.-Location:...
and San MartínSan Martín (TransMilenio)The simple station San Martín is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, which opened in the year 2000.-Location:The station is located in northwestern Bogotá, specifically on Avenida Suba with Calle 83.-History:...
: 14 stations - Calle 80 between Portal de la 80 and Polo
Polo (TransMilenio)The simple station Polo is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000.-Location:The station is located in northwestern Bogotá, specifically on Calle 80, with Carrera 27....
: 14 stations - NQS Central between La Castellana
La Castellana (TransMilenio)The simple-station La Castellana is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000.-Location:La Castellana is located in northern Bogotá, specifically on Avenida NQS with Carrera 28/Calle 86A.-History:...
and RicaurteRicaurte (TransMilenio)The transfer station Ricaurte is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000.-Location:The station is located near downtown Bogotá, specifically at the intersection of Calle 13 with Carrera 27, right before the Carrera 30 bridge.-History:The station was...
: 11 stations - Américas between Portal de Las Américas
Portal de Las Américas (TransMilenio)Portal de Las Américas is a terminus station of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, which opened in the year 2000.-Location:...
and De La SabanaDe La Sabana (TransMilenio)The simple-station De La Sabana is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000.-Location:The station is located close to downtown Bogotá, close to the main train station, De La Sabana, but more specifically on the Troncal Calle 13 between Carreras 16...
: 17 station (including RicaurteRicaurte (TransMilenio)The transfer station Ricaurte is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000.-Location:The station is located near downtown Bogotá, specifically at the intersection of Calle 13 with Carrera 27, right before the Carrera 30 bridge.-History:The station was...
station) - NQS Sur between Comuneros
Comuneros (TransMilenio)The simple-station Comuneros is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000.-Location:The station is located on Avenida NQS between Calles 3 and 5A, south of downtown Bogotá.-History:...
and Portal del Sur (TransMilenio)Portal del Sur (TransMilenio)Portal del Sur is one of the terminus stations of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, which opened in the year 2000.-Location:...
: 12 stations - Caracas Sur between Hospital
Hospital (TransMilenio)The simple-station Hospital is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000.-Location:The station is located in the city center, specifically at Avenida Caracas with Calles 3 and 4.-History:...
and Portal de UsmePortal de Usme (TransMilenio)Portal de Usme is one of the terminal stations in the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000.-Location:...
and Portal del TunalPortal del Tunal (TransMilenio)Portal del Tunal is a terminal station of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000.-Location:Portal del Tunal is located in southern Bogotá, in front of the Parque El Tunal, specifically at the intersection of Avenida Boyacá with Avenida Ciudad de...
: 16 stations - Eje Ambiental: Museo del Oro
Museo del Oro (TransMilenio)The simple-station Museo del Oro is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000.-Location:The station is located in the very heart of Bogotá. It is located on Avenida Jiménez just five meters from Carrera Séptima...
and Las AguasLas Aguas (TransMilenio)The simple-station Las Aguas is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000.-Location:The station is located in the eastern part of downtown Bogotá, specifically on the Avenida Jiménez extension, Carrera 3 with Calles 18 and 19.-History:The Eje...
: 2 stations
Since the May 2006 expansion, the TransMilenio Route System changed dramatically, with new sections added to the system. Instead of being numbered, routes have a combination of letters and numbers. In order to fill the information gap, TransMilenio made available an interactive guide http://www.surumbo.com that includes routes, stations, nearby places and routes combination, in a simple and efficient form.
New lines are being constructed including one in Calle 26 (Downtown-West (Airport)) and the other in Carrera 10 (Downtown-South). They should become operational in the first semester of 2011.
It is under consideration to start constructing a new line in Carrera 7 (North-Downtown), which has been criticized as there are certain parts in which the system might not fit.
There are five types of stations:
- Sencillas (Simple): local service stations, located approximately every 500 m.
- De transferencia (Transfer): allow transfer between different lines through a tunnel.
- Sin intercambio (No transfer): do not allow transfer from the north-south line to the south-north line; located in a stretch of the Autopista Norte
- Intermedias (Intermediate): service both feeder and trunk lines.
- Cabecera (Portal): near the entrances to the city. In addition to feeders and articulated buses, intercity buses from the metropolitan area also arrive at these stations.
All stations have electronic boards announcing the approximate arrival time of the next bus. Wait times are short as there is usually a bus serving the station. There are also station attendants to provide assistance to the passengers, and posted system maps.
History
Before TransMilenio, Bogotá's mass transit "system" consisted of thousands of independently operated and uncoordinated mini buses. Mayor Enrique PeñalosaEnrique Peñalosa
Enrique Peñalosa Londoño is a Colombian politician and New Urbanist. He was mayor of Bogotá, from 1998 until 2001, and was runner-up in 2007. He is running in 2011 for mayor as the Green Party candidate. He has also worked as a journalist and consultant on urban and transportation policy...
oversaw the construction of the initial TransMilenio system, which took only three years to complete from its conception to opening. The mayor created a special company to build the project and run the central system. The operational design of TransMilenio was undertaken by transport consultants Steer Davies Gleave. The international consulting firm McKinsey & Co. was hired as the project manager and leading local investment bank Capitalcorp S.A. was assigned the financial structuring of the project. Most of the money required to build TransMilenio was provided by the Colombian central government, while the city of Bogotá provided the remaining 30%.
The system opened in December 2000. A second phase has been completed, and a third is underway. Other cities are building systems modeled on Transmilenio, for example Mexico City.
TransMilenio stations comply with easy access regulations because they are elevated and have ramps leading to the entrance. The alimentadores (Feeders) are normal buses without handicapped accessibility. A lawsuit by disabled user Daniel Bermúdez caused a ruling that all feeder systems must comply with easy access regulations by 2004, but this has not happened yet.
2006 Protests
On May 2 and 3, 2006, several groups of bus drivers not associated with TransMilenio held a strike, protesting against some elements and consequences of the system. They disagreed with the amount of monetary compensation that they would receive in exchange for the disposal of old buses (10 to more than 20 years old), traffic restrictions on the TransMilenio main lines, and a new Pico y Placa Ambiental in some city areas, that would restrict the schedules of buses older than 10 years to early morning hours to reduce pollution in the city.Some of the larger bus companies, which participate in TransMilenio, also retired their conventional bus lines during the strike. Public transportation ground to a halt in much of the city, though TransMilenio and a number of other buses continued operating they could not cope with all of the demand. Acts of individual intimidation and violence against some private vehicles, TransMilenio and conventional buses occurred during the strike, as well as clashes between some of the strikers and the police.
Bogotá's Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Luis Eduardo Garzón rejected the strike, firmly defended all of the measures as necessary for the city's transportation future, and stated that he was only willing to discuss the specific details of their implementation, as well as a further democratization of TransMilenio's operations, after the situation calmed down. During the second and final day of the strike, the local administration, the strikers and their companies agreed to begin talks.
During the strike, some protests included users of TransMilenio who complained because the buses were passing at a very low frequency. Several stations became so filled up that some people fell from them into the street. Even after the strike ended, some TransMilenio passengers have subsequently protested because they still find different aspects of the system to be inefficient and uncomfortable.
External links
- Official web site of TransMilenio http://www.transmilenio.gov.co/WebSite/English_Default.aspx
- suRumbo.com official interactive guide of TransMilenio
- Bogota's New Transit System a TransMilenio slideshow by the New York Times.
- The Economics of TransMilenio an economic analysis of Bogotá's BRT system
- Unofficial map of stations at Google Maps
- Bus Revolution, by Chip Mitchell, The World (produced by the BBC, PRI and WGBH-Boston), radio story on TransMilenio by public radio and the BBC (2005).
- Understanding Bogota's TransMilenio System Dos and Don'ts on using Transmilenio, by Colombia Reports.