"Increasingly expensive and unfeasible"
When the first project was designed in 1942, Bogotá had 400,000 inhabitants, an efficient tramway system and an average population density.
But then the governments, engaged in a partisan struggle, modified the urban development plan several times and, for clientelistic rather than urbanistic purposes, changed the tramway for buses. At the same time, the city received millions of people displaced by violence, making it one of the most densely populated cities in the world.
Bogotá today is a particularly segregated city, where, generally speaking, the rich live in the north and the poor in the south. Most people live far from most jobs. Millions must travel three to four hours a day to get to work.
But then the governments, engaged in a partisan struggle, modified the urban development plan several times and, for clientelistic rather than urbanistic purposes, changed the tramway for buses. At the same time, the city received millions of people displaced by violence, making it one of the most densely populated cities in the world.
Bogotá today is a particularly segregated city, where, generally speaking, the rich live in the north and the poor in the south. Most people live far from most jobs. Millions must travel three to four hours a day to get to work.
How long has this project been going on?
Experts agree that the Bogotá metro was never so close to completion as in the 1990s, when there was consensus on a system and a form of financing.
But three things happened: the country entered a serious economic crisis, an earthquake in the coffee region diverted the State's efforts, and the Medellín metro, inaugurated in 1995 after 10 years of obstacles, cost twice as much as budgeted.
"The Medellín metro spent more money than it should have and from that moment on a metro law was created that imposed many restrictions to do so," says Valentina Montoya, a lawyer and mobility expert.
"In the midst of the crisis and with that law it was easier to do the transmilenio, which was cheaper and did not demand so many requirements."
The old problem of autonomy
Throughout its republican history, Colombia has tried to organize—for many without success—the enormous diversity of its territory. The discussion between the need for a federalist or centralist State was not settled with the civil wars of the 19th century or with the Constitution signed in 1991, which wanted to give autonomy to the regions.
" After the Constitution we were left with a lot of municipal autonomy, but little budget for large works ," says Darío Hidalgo, a doctor in transportation engineering.
If Bogotá wants a metro, it depends on the nation. And only on rare occasions, such as in the 1990s, have the two governments been aligned.
Experts agree that Transmilenio is efficient and was cheap, but that it does not replace the need for a metro. Two thirds of Bogota residents disapprove of the system.
What is the Transmilenio alternative?
Transmilenio is a BRT transportation system, which is part of the mass transit system of Bogota and soacha whose managing entity is "Empresa De transporte del tercer milenio s.a". its construction began in 1998 and was inaugurated on December 4, 2000.
It is a public transport system based on buses, which has a similar operation to a conventional subway.