[sustran] Re: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Metro Rail in Bogota !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Priyanka Alok Jain]

I have a slight different take on this. There is a difference between activism and pragmatism. While activism is important to control the political or economic opportunism, it should not come in the way of pragmatism.

Both metros and BRT are part of urban mobility solutions and one should only complement the other. I agree that many cities are stupidly planning metros without thinking much about the need but for their monumental value and that should be stopped but can you imagine Hong Kong or Singapore without a well-functioning metro system? Bogota BRT system is bursting at its seams and has almost reached its capacity in many corridors. It is wise to plan a metro along those corridors while BRT can also expand in new corridors. Being linear, dedicated right-of-way systems, metros obviously move more people than BRT. Let’s not make Enrique Penalosa appear as a sinner but an advocate for public transport. Last thing one would want to see is more private cars on the road.

“Pricing” is a completely different issue and I will not confuse the issue by dwelling on it.

Best Regards
Alok

> On 6 Dec 2017, at 2:31 PM, Debi Goenka <debigoenka at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Dear all,
> I agree with Sujit. Metro Rail is perhaps the most expensive and most 
> unaffordable form of public transport. It is also very disruptive. As we 
> have seen in Mumbai, the Metro I project took more than 7 years to 
> construct. The road under it is still in shambles. The private operator 
> (Reliance) is at loggerheads with the Government partner (MMRDA), and 
> the battle to raise fares has gone to the Supreme Court and back to the 
> Bombay High Court. In fact, the Bombay High Court held on Monday that 
> the fares could not be increased to Rs.110 for 10 km. I am sure Reliance 
> will challenge this in the Supreme Court.
> If cheaper options are available, we should definitely go in for these, 
> given the propensity of Governments and planning authorities to stop 
> subsidizing public transport whilst going ahead with subsidies to fossil 
> fuels and private transport.
> Debi
> 
> On 06-12-2017 11:45, Sujit Patwardhan wrote:
>> Dear Friends,
>> 
>> I'm surprised that the recent announcement from the Mayor of Bogota, Mr
>> Enrique Penalosa of the city going in for a Metro Rail has evoked no
>> response from members of this group.
>> 
>> As a charismatic proponent of Bus Rapid Transit - the TransMilenio, Mr
>> Penalosa has been the most prominent brand leader for BRT. His convincing
>> arguments for proposing BRT instead of the extremely costly Metro Rail has
>> encouraged many cities in the South to introduce the BRT and begin to
>> tackle congestion and pollution in their cities. The example of Bogota as a
>> city with unbelievably high 'people per hour per direction' (pphpd ) of
>> 45,000 has a living example of how a bus based system can compete with the
>> much more expensive Metro which particularly for the cities in developing
>> countries was proving to be beyond their means. Despite its high cost,
>> Metro Rail has been a coveted item of infrastructure for many cities who
>> see it as an attractive toy that they must have at any cost.
>> 
>> However now with Bogota going in for the Metro there will be an even
>> greater push for cities to get a Metro - usually at the cost of the city
>> bus service which is the only basic affordable public transport available
>> to the city.
>> 
>> I would welcome comments from members on this list who are aware of the
>> dire need of an Affordable Public Transport system to counter the outdated
>> and failed "car oriented' model.
>> 
>> --
>> Sujit
>> 
>> 
>> 
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> -- 
> 
> 
> Debi Goenka
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