Calle 19 Station in July 2004

The TransMilenio is a bus rapid transit system that serves Bogotá, Colombia. As of June 2007, the TransMilenio runs throughout the whole city, covering Av. Caracas, Calle 80, Autopista Norte, Av. Jiménez, NQS ("Norte Quito Sur"), Calle 13, Av. de las Américas, and Av. Suba. The system opened to the public on December 2000, covering Av. Caracas and Calle 80. Other routes were added gradually over the next 5 years. The project consists of seven phases: Phase III, as of June 2007 is in pre-planning state and would include Carrera 7th, Carrera 10th, and Av. El Dorado. Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... There is a large number of public transport systems in European towns that fulfill several of the BRT criteria given above, but they are rarely designated as BRT. Bus lanes and exclusive use of key city-centre streets is commonplace, and bus priority on approach to traffic lights is quite... Nickname: Motto: Bogotá, 2600 metros más cerca de las estrellas Bogotá, 2600 meters closer to the stars Localities (localidades) of Bogotá Country Colombia Department Bogotá, D.C.* Foundation August 6, 1538 Government  - Mayor Luis Eduardo Garzón, PDA Area  - City 1,587 km²  (612. ... June 2007 is the sixth month of that year. ... 2000 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December This is a timeline for events in December, 2000. ...

Structure

Based on the model used in Curitiba, Brazil, TransMilenio consists of numerous elevated stations in the center of a main avenue, or "troncal". Users pay at the station and await the arrival of the bus, whose doors open at the same time as the sliding glass doors of the station. A dedicated lane on each side of the station allows express buses to pass through without stopping while other buses stop to allow passengers in or out. International consulting firm McKinsey & Co. was hired as project manager and leading local investment bank Capitalcorp S.A. was assigned the financial structuring of the project. Location of Curitiba Country Brazil Region Sul State Paraná Founded 29 March 1693 Incorporated 1842 Government  - Mayor Carlos Alberto Richa (PSDB) Area  - City 430. ... A bus lane in Mannheim, Germany A bus (only) lane is a lane on a road restricted to buses, and usually emergency vehicles or taxicabs and possibly high occupancy vehicles or bicycles . ...

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. On May 10th, 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 of the BRT system. Diesel or diesel fuel is a specific fractional distillate of fuel oil (mostly petroleum) that is used as fuel in a diesel engine invented by German engineer Rudolf Diesel. ... 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. ... This page is about the Mercedes-Benz brand of automobiles and trucks from the DaimlerChrysler automobile manufacturer. ... Volvo Cars is the car maker using the Volvo Trademark. ... A vintage Scania truck (L80 successor to the Scania-Vabis L56) Scania AB is a leading European manufacturer of heavy trucks (British English: lorries), buses, and diesel engines, based in Södertälje, Sweden. ... A Mississauga Transit bus in Mississauga Ontario. ...

Bus with double articulation, TransMilenio Headquarters, Bogotá, Colombia.

As of February 2007, the fare is 1300 Colombian pesos for a single trip (about EUR 0.40 or USD 0.70). Cards use a contactless smart card (MIFARE) system, and it is possible to purchase multiple trips for one card. Most users are distrustful and purchase only 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 (as have been recommended by urban planning consultants). Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... February 2007 is the second month of the year. ... ISO 4217 Code COP User(s) Colombia Inflation 4. ... “EUR” redirects here. ... ISO 4217 Code USD User(s) the United States, the British Indian Ocean Territory,[1] the British Virgin Islands, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the insular areas of the United States Inflation 2. ... MIFARE is reputedly the most widely installed contactless smartcard technology in the world with 500 million smart card chips and 5 million reader modules sold. ...

An additional set of 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 in order to use the feeder buses.

Although TransMilenio stations comply with easy access regulations by virtue of being elevated and having ramps leading to the entrance, the alimentadores 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 yet to occur. Easy Access is a term that describes among other things, the design of buildings, or transport so that anybody regardless of whether they are elderly, pushing a pram, or are disabled can use them. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Costs and ridership

According to a United States Transportation Research Board (TRB) Report, the construction cost per kilometer for the first phase of 41 kilometers was US$240 million, or US$5.9 million per kilometer. Daily ridership quickly reached 800,000. Transmilenio demonstrates the comparative cost efficiency of bus rapid transit. For example, according to the Delhi metro, the first phase of the Delhi Metro, built at nearly the same time, extended approximately 60 kilometers at a cost of approximately $35 million per kilometer. The Delhi Metro carries 450,000 daily riders, little more than one-half Phase I of TransMilenio (see Dinesh Mohan, "Squandering Public Funds for a Handful of People," The Business Standard, October 7, 2007 and " Is the Delhi Metro a Costly Mistake," below). The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is a division of the National Research Council, which serves as an independent adviser to the federal government and others on scientific and technical questions of national importance. ... The Business Standard is an English financial newspaper, published from various cities in India. ...

According to TRB, TransMilenio has since been expanded and ridership in early 2006 was 1,050,000 daily.

Eventually, there is a plan to build 388 kilometers of route, which will provide a very dense network of rapid transit for an urban area with an estimated land area of approximately 500 square kilometers For example, Madrid covers nearly as much land area and has one of the most dense Metro systems in the world, with approximately 230 kilometers of route. TRB reports that the 388 kilometer system is projected to cost $3.3 billion, which is only 10 percent more than a previously proposed Metro of 30 kilometers would have cost.

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.

Routes

In May 2006 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.

Routes

Route Map

New lines are considered to be added, including one in Carrera 7 (North-Downtown) -which has been critiziced as there are certain parts in which the system might not fit-, one in Calle 26 (Downtown-West (Airport)) and the other in Carrera 10 (Dowtown-South).

Stations

See also: List of TransMilenio Stations

There are five types of stations: This is a complete list of stations of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia The stations are distributed according to the zones implemented April 29, 2006. ...

• 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 (some stations of the Avenida ciudad de Quito were no-transfer ones until new pedestrian bridges opened in 2006).
• 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, and maps of the system. There are also station attendants to provide assistance to the passengers.

TransMilenio has 114 stations distributed as follows, according to the new routes:

• Troncal Caracas between Calle 76 and Tercer Milenio: 14 stations
• Autopista norte between Portal del Norte and Héroes: 15 stations
• Suba between Portal de Suba and San Martín: 14 stations
• Calle 80 between Portal de la 80 and Polo: 14 stations
• NQS Central between La Castellana and Ricaurte: 11 stations
• Américas between Portal de Las Américas and De La Sabana: 17 station (including Ricaurte station)
• NQS Sur between Comuneros and Portal del Sur (TransMilenio): 12 stations
• Caracas Sur between Hospital and Portal de Usme and Portal del Tunal: 16 stations
• Eje Ambiental: Museo del Oro and Las Aguas: 2 stations

Image File history File links A-Caracas. ... Location Avenida Caracas between Calles 74 and 76 Neighborhood Chapinero and Barrios Unidos Opened 2000 The simple-station Calle 76 is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000. ... Location Avenida Caracas between calles 7 and 6. ... Image File history File links B-Autonorte. ... Location Autopista Norte with Calle 172/176 Neighborhood Usaquén and Suba Opened 2001 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 Autopista Norte with Calle 80 Neighborhood Chapinero and Barrios Unidos Opened 2001 The simple station Héroes is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000. ... Image File history File links C-Suba. ... Location Avenida Suba with Avenida Ciudad de Cali Neighborhood Suba Opened April 29, 2006 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 Avenida Suba with Calle 82 Neighborhood Suba Opened April 29, 2006 The simple station San Martín is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, which opened in the year 2000. ... Image File history File links D-Calle_80. ... Location Calle 80 with Avenida Longitudinal de Occidente Neighborhood Engativá Opened 2000 The Portal de la 80 is one of the terminus stations of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000. ... Location Calle 80 with Transversal 27 Neighborhood Barrios Unidos Opened 2000 The simple station Polo is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000. ... Image File history File links E-NQS_Central. ... Location Avenida NQS with Carrera 25 Neighborhood Barrios Unidos Opened 2005 The simple-station La Castellana is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000. ... Location Troncal Calle 13 between Carreras 27 and 29 and Avenida NQS between Calles 9ª and 12. ... Image File history File links F-Américas. ... Location Avenida Ciudad de Cali with Avenida Ciudad de Villavicencio Neighborhood Kennedy Opened December of 2004 Portal de Las Américas is a terminus station of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, which opened in the year 2000. ... Location Troncal Calle 13 between carreras 16 and 17 Neighborhood Los Mártires Opened 2003 The simple-station De La Sabana is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000. ... Location Troncal Calle 13 between Carreras 27 and 29 and Avenida NQS between Calles 9ª and 12. ... Image File history File links G-NQS_Sur. ... Location Avenida NQS between Calles 3ª and 5ª Neighborhood Los Mártires and Puente Aranda Opened 2005 The simple-station Comuneros is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000. ... Location Autopista Sur near Los Jardines del Apogeo Neighborhood Bosa Opened 2006 Portal del Sur is one of the terminus stations of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, which opened in the year 2000. ... Image File history File links H-Caracas_Sur. ... Location Avenida Caracas with calles 2a y 3a Neighborhoods Los Mártires and Santa Fe Opened 2000 The simple-station Hospital is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000. ... Location Avenida Caracas (Carretera a Usme Kilometer 5) Neighborhood Usme Opened 2001 Portal de Usme is one of the terminal stations in the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000. ... Location Avenida Boyacá with Avenida Ciudad de Villavicencio Neighborhood Tunjuelito Location 2003 Portal del Tunal is a terminal station of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000. ... Image File history File links J-Eje_Ambiental. ... Location Avenida Jiménez between Carreras 6ª and 7ª Neighborhoods La Candelaria and Santa Fe Opened 2002 The simple-station Museo del Oro is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000. ... Location Carrera 3ª with Calles 18 and 19 Neighborhood Santa Fe Opened 2002 The simple-station Las Aguas is part of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia, opened in the year 2000. ...

Criticisms

Most users will agree that TransMilenio is a vast improvement over Bogotá's previous public transit system, especially in comparison with the chaotic systems in place in cities like Lima, Peru. There are a number of criticisms based on the way the system works ^[1] This article is about Lima, Peru. ...

• Buses and stations are often packed even during non-rush hour periods.
• The use of diesel buses have a greater polluting impact in a high-altitude city like Bogotá than at sea level (Bogotá is 2,600 meters above sea level).
• The stations have uncovered spots where, when it rains, passengers cannot avoid getting wet as they walk from one end of the station to the other.
• Mirroring the experience with crowded transit systems of all modes, many users complain about pickpocketing inside the buses, a problem which is made worse by the great extent to which the buses are packed.

Regardless, the system is an example of how efficient, safe, and orderly public transit systems can be created without significant investment or disruption. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Protests

On May 2 and May 3, 2006, several groups of ordinary bus drivers not related with TransMilenio held a strike, protesting against some elements and consequences of the implementation 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 10-year-old buses to early morning hours in order to reduce pollution in the city. May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (123rd in leap years). ... is the 123rd day of the year (124th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

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.

An interesting thing about that protest was that the major violent acts were committed by users of TransMilenio who were desperate because the buses were passing at a very low frequency and the stations were so filled up that some people fell from them into the street. Several protests have been held since then by TransMilenio passengers who find the system inefficient and uncomfortable, but very little has changed.

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. A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger, greater) is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer. ... Luis Eduardo Garzón (nicknamed Lucho) (born February 11, 1951 in Bogotá) is currently the Mayor of Bogotá (2004-2007), a left-wing Colombian political activist and a former union leader. ...

See also

• List of rapid transit systems

This is an alphabetical list of cities worldwide that have a rapid transit system, or a light-rail system with some elements of rapid transit. ...

References

1. ^ http://univerciudad.redbogota.com/ediciones/009/noticias02.htm

External links

• Official web site of TransMilenio
  • (English)
• suRumbo.com
• TRB Report on TransMilenio
• Dehi Metro website
• Is the Delhi Metro a Costly Mistake
• Unofficial route map at Google Earth (not 100% complete)
• Unofficial route map at Google Maps (not 100% complete)
• Bus Revolution, by Chip Mitchell, The World (produced by the BBC, PRI and WGBH-Boston), December 2, 2005. Colombia, the site of a decades-old armed conflict fueled by drug production, would seem an unlikely place for a revolution in rapid transit. This five-minute story showcases a bus system that has dramatically improved mobility for the 7 million inhabitants of the nation's capital—at a bargain price.