Bogotà

In Bogotá, 80% of the 7 million inhabitants use public transport to get around. 28,000 older buses used to crawl through the streets at a commercial speed of 8 km/h and more than 3,000 traffic accidents involving buses caused the deaths of 800 people each year. In order to deal with this chaotic situation, the Bogotá authorities called in an operating consortium to set up a huge new system to structure and rationalize public transport.

• Set up a new public transportation system.
• Free up the super-congested urban environment.
• Increase use of public transport.
• Improve the system's performance and image.

Under the leadership of the district of Bogotá, Veolia Transdev, part of an operators' consortium, took part in the rejuvenation of the city. We brought our worldwide knowledge and expertise to help the organizing authority run the BRT.

• Construction at ground level of a central 4-lane corridor for exclusive use of articulated buses.
• Creation of stations with an enclosed central platform, only accessible to pedestrians via walkways.
• Automatic real-time information system alerting passengers to imminent arrivals and destinations served.

Result: Average travel time has fallen from 1 hour and 30 minutes to 35 minutes.

• Completion of 230 km of cycle paths.
• Rehabilitation of 300,000 m2 of pavement.
• Plantation of thousands of trees.
• Restriction of private car use during rush hours.

Result: 5% of trips in Bogotá today are by bicycle. BRT stations at each end of a line have extensive bicycle parking facilities to encourage cyclists to use the system.

Inaugurated in the year 2000, Veolia Transdev has played its role throughout the development of this globally iconic bus rapid transit and recently introduced new bi-articulated vehicles to increase capacity. Navigating the system is made easier, thanks to:

• a clear hierarchy of station types: from individual stations located every 500 meters, to interconnected BRT stations providing transfers within the closed TransMilenio system,
• transit centers at the outskirts of the city bring together feeder lines, BRT, metropolitan coach lines, pedestrians and cyclists and ensure a smooth transfer whilst reducing congestion,
• all stations have real-time electronic boards announcing the approximate arrival time of the next bus; though it is rarely necessary to check due to the short headway between vehicles,
• station attendants help guide and inform passengers.