Felipe Ramirez, urban mobility expert and former secretary of mobility for Bogota, Colombia, emphasized that political will plays an important role in building sustainable transport systems in cities like Bengaluru. On Friday, Mr Ramirez, who is also the Director of the Urban Mobility World Resources Centre, delivered a lecture on ‘Transforming Urban Mobility in Mega Cities: Lessons from Bogotá’ and interacted with the audience at the Bangalore International Centre.
The city of Bogotá implemented the largest Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) network and other sustainability mobility infrastructure by promoting bicycle-sharing systems.
He said that given the population of Bengaluru, the city needs to increase the fleet size of city buses from 6,500 to 15,000 to make public transport more accessible and effective. “The adoption of the BRTS model here may be a bit difficult, as the population of Bengaluru is embracing the Metro,” said Mr. Ramirez.
Mr. Ramirez, on his first visit to Bengaluru, highlighted the similarities between the city and Bogota, saying that both are large cities that face challenges related to traffic congestion and transportation. He said that there is a need for a transport system involving all sections of the society to ensure smooth functioning of all modes of transport. “Provide a fully connected network to the public and make it reliable; Otherwise, don’t ask people to use public transport,” he said.
He recommended cycling as a viable and sustainable mode of transport in Bengaluru. “There is no better city for cyclists than Bengaluru. There is a lot of greenery in the city. The government needs to create something that is safe for the people and ensure that there is a proper network.
He also talked about Bogotá’s approach to building accessible buses, “Accessibility needs to be taken into account when designing buses,” he said. Responding to a question on viability gap funding by the government, Mr. Ramirez said, “There is no such thing as profitable transportation.” “The government should invest in a better transport system keeping in mind the accessibility of the public.”