TransMilenio started operations in December 2000, and after more than 8 years it is still regarded as the gold standard for Bus Rapid Transit. Cities as diverse as New York, Delhi, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Beijing and Mexico, to name a few, have all drawn inspiration from Bogotá. But still there is no BRT system that matches its performance - at least not yet.

Why is TransMilenio so special? The clues could be in its “rail like” capacity and travel speed – not seen before in bus systems, and its ability to transform traditional bus operations with an interesting public-private partnership model. The most interesting aspect is that it has shown that it was possible to innovate, transform, and improve transport conditions in a very large city with profound transport challenges. It proved that cities can think outside the box, and bring solutions to the people without costing a fortune or taking decades to build. Kudos to Mayor Enrique Peñalosa, who started it from scratch, and the following administrations, which have continued and expanded it.

After 8 years, 76% of users rate the system as being good or very good. While TransMilenio is still far from solving all the mobility problems in Bogota, it has been a turning point that reversed a downward trend of traffic congestion and urban chaos. TransMilenio’s implementation, along with Bogota’s other sustainable transport initiatives, has resulted in a reduction of private automobile use and increase in non motorized transport in the city, while keeping the transit use stable with a 60%+ share (traditional public transport plus TransMilenio). These trends are quite different than similar ones in other developing cities where auto use increases and transit use declines.

For those interested in facts and figures, you can find this information after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

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A street in London built on a human scale. Photo by dnlb2.

The BBC has run a piece by Dermot Finch, the director of Centre for Cities, which argues that UK cities have a lot to teach their Trans-Atlantic neighbors on subjects such as suburban sprawl and traffic. Finch’s argument is broken into four categories:

• Tackling Gridlock
• Keeping Town and City Centers Alive
• How to Beat Suburban Sprawl
• Lavishing Attention on Cities

Read the rest of this entry »

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China’s Green Beat, is a neat bilingual blog I stumbled upon the other day, written by John Romankiewicz, an American Fulbright scholar currently living in Beijing, and Zhao Xiangyu, a Chinese citizen from Heilongjiang, a province in the northern part of the country. Check out the above video for a comical take on serious challenge: motorization in the Chinese capital.

Read more about Beijing’s metro, BRT system, Olympic bid, and weather problems.

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Photo by Murat Suyabatmaz.

Biking in cities doesn’t have to be hazardous to your health. But in Istanbul, you must be extra careful. Besides traffic and air pollution – the usually problems faced by urban cyclists – Istanbul riders have to deal with flooded cycle paths, barbecues, trees, bushes, and garbage bins in cycle areas, and lack of bicycle parking.

But even with these problems there’s still reason to be excited about biking in Istanbul. Recently, Gizem Altin, a Turkish cycling advocate, organized Istanbul’s first ever symposium on urban cycling. In attendance was a representative from the city government who announced that Istanbul could have 101 km of dedicated bike lanes right away without any major structural changes, if the mayor were to give his support. The city official also talked about the city’s master plan for building 670 km of bike lanes. But alas, there is no time frame for such a project, an indication that it might never be implemented.

In the meantime, cycling in Istanbul continues to be an extreme sport. After the leap, check out the photo essay on biking in Istanbul by Murat Suyabatmaz, a Turkish cycling advocate who also attended the bike symposium. Read the rest of this entry »

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Ferry-boats in the Bosphorous (left) by Kıvanç and traffic on one of Istanbul’s freeways (right) by Roderick Maclean on flickr

Aziz Nesin was a wonderful and prolific Turkish writer, humorist and social/political commentator. I just read a 1992 interview with him where the talks about transportation in Istanbul, the old ferryboats and trams, their specific traditions and his dislike of the motor-car.

He talks about the old Istanbul ferry-boats, where the passengers knew each other and formed a special community. Every passenger had a seat. “Don’t sit there,” someone would say, “That’s Mr. Hasan’s seat.”

“But today’s Thursday,” the other would answer, “Mr. Hasan doesn’t go down to town today.”

And then there was the extraordinary world of the trams…

Aziz Nesin says when they first started making cars in Turkey he thought “What are they making cars for, who’s going to buy them?” He himself continued to use buses throughout his life despite his success and fame. Eventually he resigned to a farmhouse outside of Istanbul to live in the school/home he founded for homeless children.

Here is a joke from that interview, which I thought was pretty great:

A man jumps into a taxi, he’s in a great hurry, but the road’s jammed with traffic. “Hey!” he shouts to the driver, “Can’t you go a bit faster?” The driver looks back at him out of the corner of his eye. “Of course we can go faster,” he says, “But what are we going to do about the car?”

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