Advancing Urban Mobility with National Programs: Review of Colombia’s National Urban Transport Policy
Urban mobility is not merely a local concern. National governments in developing countries are increasingly investing in urban transport infrastructure. Although the body of knowledge on the topic is growing, further understanding and improvement are necessary. This paper contributes to the topic by providing an assessment and formulating recommendations for the Colombian national urban transport program. The program has increased the number of cities with mass transit from two to eight over the past 10 years. New bus systems, with a total length of 194 km of bus corridors, serve 2.5 million passengers per day. The policy supports smaller cities in transforming their public transport systems citywide. Projects have resulted in positive socioeconomic impacts through reductions in operational costs, travel times, air pollutant emissions, and traffic fatalities and injuries—with a socioeconomic internal rate of return of up to 45%. Two critical aspects for improvement are identified: (a) the competition between semiformal public transport and motorcycles and organized public transport and (b) the principle of self-sustainability of transit systems. Suggestions on policy responses, such as stronger focus on quality, subsidies—funded from transport demand management and land use value capture—and enhancement of institutional coordination and control, are presented. Lessons from Colombia are relevant to other emerging countries that are considering and upgrading national urban mobility policies.
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Availability:
- Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/172052.aspx
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Authors:
- Hidalgo, Dario
- Díaz, Rodrigo
- Publication Date: 2014
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Print
- Features: Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: pp 113–120
- Monograph Title: Developing Countries 2014
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Serial:
- Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
- Issue Number: 2451
- Publisher: Transportation Research Board
- ISSN: 0361-1981
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Bus transit; Developing countries; Economic impacts; Governments; Infrastructure; Mobility; Policy; Public transit; Social impacts; Sustainable transportation; Urban areas
- Geographic Terms: Colombia
- Subject Areas: Environment; Planning and Forecasting; Policy; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01515466
- Record Type: Publication
- ISBN: 9780309295437
- Report/Paper Numbers: 14-5125
- Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
- Created Date: Feb 24 2014 8:42AM