VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #1467/01 1281604
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081604Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8591
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 8849
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 2173
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ MAY LIMA 7473
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 3551
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 8210

UNCLAS BOGOTA 001467 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR OES/ENV AND WHA/EPSC 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELTN SENV SOCI KGHG PGOV CO
 
SUBJECT: COLOMBIA TRANSFORMING PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN LARGEST CITIES 
 
¶1.  Summary:  Encouraged by the successful implementation of a bus 
rapid transit (BRT) system - locally known as TransMilenio - in 
Bogota, the GOC has launched an ambitious program to bring BRT to 
seven of Colombia's largest cities.  While delays and cost overruns 
have complicated the effort, an estimated 19 million Colombians 
stand to gain by the end of 2010 from the economic, environmental, 
and quality of life benefits of improved urban transportation 
services.  End summary. 
 
The Success of TransMilenio 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2.  After attempting at least ten times over the previous 60 years 
to construct a subway and then abandoning the effort due to high 
costs, the 2001 rollout of TransMilenio revolutionized Bogota's 
public transport.  Modeled after a BRT system in Curitiba, Brazil, 
begun in the 1970s, TransMilenio features high-capacity buses 
running along dedicated lanes and stopping at designated stations 
with subway-like amenities such as pre-payment, level boarding, and 
real-time customer information.  Faster, cleaner, and safer than the 
regular bus system it replaced, TransMilenio has resulted in travel 
time savings averaging 32 percent, a reduction in emissions of 40 
percent, and a decrease in accidents of 67 percent.  The system has 
done this while steadily increasing its capacity.  Today, 
TransMilenio regularly carries 40,000 passengers per mile at 
subway-like speeds during rush hour and 30,000 people at non-peak 
times--loads similar to Mexico City's subway and three and a half 
times that of Washington's Metro--at one-ninth the estimated cost of 
a subway system. 
 
¶3.  Experts have also applauded the system's fiscal benefits.  While 
public funds were necessary to construct the lanes and stations, 
fares cover bus purchases and all operations, cleaning, and 
maintenance with no public subsidies.  The program has also proven 
the potential of public-private partnerships, with the public 
authorities responsible for system planning and supervision and 
private consortiums of bus operators owning, operating and 
maintaining the buses.  Finally, the program drew in 5,300 informal 
sector bus operators that often did not pay taxes to create the 
registered bus consortiums that are now part of the taxpaying formal 
economy. 
 
GOC to Bring BRT to Seven Other Cities 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  Buoyed by TransMilenio's success, President Uribe offered 
assistance to seven other large Colombian cities--Medellin, Cali, 
Barranquilla, Cartagena, Bucaramanga, Pereira and Soacha.  The plan 
called for 158 km of corridors at a cost of 1.3 billion USD.  The 
GOC agreed to provide project management, technical assistance and 
contribute 70 percent of the financing costs, with local governments 
contributing the remainder.  Similar to TransMilenio, the systems 
would utilize a public-private partnership designed to leverage the 
strengths of each: the private sector is responsible for equipment 
and operations, while the public sector provides the infrastructure 
and planning. 
 
¶5.  Ministry of Transportation (MinTran) Director of Transport and 
Transit Jose Enrique Pedraza told us the GOC decided to pursue BRT 
rather than subway systems in these cities based on faster 
construction phases and lower cost.  BRT became the preferred 
solution particularly after Metro Medellin - currently Colombia's 
only Metro system - took 12 years to complete and cost USD 1.9 
billion.  Pedraza added that BRT is also more viable given that 
Colombia's construction sector is comprised of small firms with 
moderate expertise, rather than large specialized construction firms 
necessary for subway projects. 
 
Expansion Projects Hampered by Delays 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  Of the seven new BRT cities planned for operation by 2008, only 
Pereira's MegaBus and Cali's MIO have begun operation.  MIO was 
delayed for months due to issues with the fare collection contractor 
and only finally opened in March 2009 using a limited network of 3 
trunk routes.  Most of system's transfer stations are also still 
under construction, though the project has already reached a cost of 
USD 542 million, or almost USD 200 million over the original budget. 
 
 
¶7.  According to Ignacio de Guzman Mora, Director at Akiris 
Consulting and project manager for TransMilenio's initial phase in 
Bogota, most BRT delays have occurred due to a lack of leadership. 
Citing MIO as an example, Guzman said the project manager has 
changed at least four times, while the leadership at MinTran changed 
eight times.  Guzman also believes that several projects have 
incurred cost overruns because the city governments have used BRT 
funds to construct entire rights-of-way rather than just installing 
BRT infrastructure.  Even Bogota used BRT money to construct ten 
regular traffic lanes alongside the two TransMilenio lanes in the 
main Avenue 30 corridor.  As a result, current BRT construction 
costs are running at an average of USD 25 million per 
kilometer--five times more than initial cost projections. 
 
¶8.  Despite delays in bringing the other BRT systems online, 
MinTran's Pedraza told us the remaining projects are nearing 
completion.  Barranquilla's TransMetro and Bucaramanga's MetroLinea 
are expected to enter operation in December 2009, while Medellin's 
MetroPlus is slated to start running in June 2010.  Soacha's 
line--which is actually a TransMilenio extension from Bogota--is 
scheduled for completion by July 2010 and Cartagena's TransCaribe is 
expected to open in December 2010. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9.  While Bogota's successful TransMilenio system has proven more 
difficult to replicate than originally anticipated, the GOC's 
ambitious partnership with local governments and private operators 
offers a relatively low-cost, high-quality, and high-capacity 
solution for addressing the transport needs of Colombia's most 
congested and polluted cities.  When completed late next year, the 
program stands to provide safer, cleaner and faster public 
transportation to almost 19 million, mostly low-income, Colombians. 
Beyond Colombia, the system, with proper leadership, could offer a 
public transport model for congested, polluted and 
resource-constrained cities worldwide. 
 
BROWNFIELD