[sustran] FW: Screw up in Bogota

[eric.britton at ecoplan.org]

Dear Colleagues,

I would very much like to have the benefit of your reactions and thoughts as
to what is currently going on in Bogota.  I personally and professionally
find it extremely distressing.

Have a look at today's El Tiempo at
http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/06-08-2001/prip83036.html to get the latest.
(I attach the usual horrible machine translation, without apologies for
anyone who needs a bit of help in making their way through the Spanish
text.)

If you look around through the recent issues of El Tiempo, you can see this
storm coming.  And if you want a flavour for how things are looking out
there on the streets, check out
http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/proyectos/ultimahora/trancon/.

Those of us who follow transport matters in the Third World are well aware
of what a dynamite keg it can be.  That's on the one hand.  But then there
is all the careful work that has been done over these last years to make
progress in building a new model of r in Third World cities.  If the present
administration gets this one any wronger, that could be the real victim of
all this.

There is an expression that I remember from German when I was little, which
went that as soon as a child says something clever at the table it's time to
put him to bed.  This situation reminds me sadly of that: the original Pico
y Placa (Odd/Even) scheme of the previous (Peñalosa) administration was
extremely well thought out and has worked admirably with private cars for
several years.  Admirably!  And now the new mayor (a fine and intelligent
man, as it happens) and his advisors (ahem!) have decided that, since it
works so well and they still want less traffic, well why not apply it to
private buses and taxis?  Ouch!

But hey! maybe I have this all horribly wrong. I'd love to think that's the
case and that they have really thought all this through and that the Bogota
Model is going to come through this unscathed.

Comments?

Eric Britton

The @New Mobility Forum is permanently at http://newmobility.org
The Commons ___Sustainable Development and Social Justice___
Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France
Eric.Britton at NewMobility.org    Tel: +331 4326 1323




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BOGOTÁ, ANOTHER TIME TO HALF MARCH FOR UNEMPLOYMENT OF TRANSPORT

The transporters again carry out an unemployment to protest against the pick
measure and badge for the public service vehicles. Hundreds of citizens
crowd together in the stations of the service of massive transport
Transmilenio, the only one that usually works. Others carry out big walks to
arrive to their working place. Today there are not classes in the district
and private schools. For the time being, there are not blockades.


To the edge of the midnight they broke the conversations among the Mayor
Antanas Mockus and the transporters of Bogotá, with that which was firm the
measure of the pick and badge for the public transportation and today Monday
an unemployment will be presented on the part of taxis and buses in the
capital, fair the day of its birthday number 463.

With mutual accusations of intransigence, Mockus and the transporters gave
end at eight hours of negotiation after which there were not agreements. The
Mayor's office asked to the from Bogotá ones not to take today buses,
busetas, taxis or collective whose badges finish in 1, 2, 3 or 4, and the
Metropolitan Police gets ready to make complete the restriction to the
public transportation that began a.m. at 5:30 o'clock

The drivers announced protests with the use of the call 'Operation turtle '.
Miguel Ángel Pérez, spokesman of Apetrans, accused Mockus of working with "
bad faith " in front of the union transporter, but the Minister of the
Interior, Armando Estrada, assured to be witness of the conciliatory spirit
of the burgomaestre.

They carry to an extreme safety measures

The director of the National, general Police Luis Ernesto Gilibert, noticed
yesterday that the institution to its position already adopted the necessary
measures to prevent that the city is paralyzed by the transporters again.

According to Gilibert, their men have the order of impeding the blockade of
main and secondary roads of the city, and he/she said that in this occasion
the authorities won't be consequent with the drivers.

To avoid any incident, the number of agents of the Metropolitan Police was
reinforced with troops of the Police of Highways and the Police of
Cundinamarca. About 3.000 men travel from last night the city.

Likewise, a strict control will be made to the use of radio frequencies for
judicializar those companies that allow the drivers to use this means to
perturb the public order.

Yesterday he/she took place a safe-deposit advice in the biggest Mayor's
office to which attended Government's secretary, Soraya Montoya; the
commandant of the Metropolitan, general Police Jorge Enrique Linares; the
commandant of the Unit of Traffic, colonel Pedro Molano; the commandant of
the Tenth Third Brigade, general Reynaldo Castellanos, and the adviser for
the security, Hugo Steel.

Linares said that there are 60 control positions in the city and 40 cranes
will be available to move away the vehicles that obstruct the roads.

The objective of the advice was to review the contingency stockings that are
had foreseen to avoid alterations of the public order in Bogotá. Troops of
the Army are bet around the city with the purpose of preventing that the
guerrilla's urban militias can infiltrates in the possible manifestations
that are carried out.

Of another side, yesterday the Defender of the Town, Eduardo Cifuentes, said
that the taponamiento of the citizens' roads viola fundamental rights.

According to the Defender, to impede the normal flow of vehicles and people
in the city, it is an attack against the free mobilization.

Cifuentes said that the drivers are in all its right of protesting provided
they make it for the road of the I dialogue and the agreement, and not
through measures that affect to the rest of the society.

The Mayor's office announced that that of today will be an ordinary day and
that therefore the scheduled activities are not suspended with reason of the
celebration of the 463 years of the capital.

Even, Mockus will be at 7 in the morning in a journey for TransMilenio that
today gives a new line of the system in the North Freeway. He/she also
enters in operation in Portal of Usme, in the south end of the city. The new
stations will allow the mobilization of at least 80 thousand passengers.

Recommendations

Avoid to take the taxis or buses whose registrations finish in 1, 2, 3 and
4, because the surest thing is that the authorities will immobilize him and
you won't be able to follow their journey.

To avoid that he/she repeats that of last Thursday, when children's
thousands were caught by several hours in the blockades promoted by the taxi
drivers, call to the school of their children and discover if there are
classes.

Limit their activities of the day, carry out alone those that it considers
really important.

Try not to traffic for the places where they concentrate the protests, as
downtown, for example.

If it can go out with their particular vehicle, ask if some neighbor or
relative goes for his same route and bring near it.

If today's journey is not very long, use bicycle or put on comfortable
clothes and walk.

Remember that TransMilenio will lend its ordinary service, starting from
5:30 o'clock including the new ones truncates them a.m., and park in the
North Freeway and the Portal of Usme.

In the event of an emergency, don't doubt to communicate with the Police.