The challenges of urban mobility, the plan that supported Hamas, and more for the weekend.
I love driving.
However, five years ago, I sold my car and swore that when I moved to Mexico City, I would be a pedestrian, a public transport user, or, if necessary, a taxi passenger.
Because I hate traffic jams. When I lived in Lima, Peru, I spent hours in traffic. (Science says that traffic congestion causes profound health effects, not to mention the impact on the economy, smog levels, and child care).
Being stuck in traffic is an involuntary pastime for millions of people in Latin America: eight out of ten Latin Americans live in cities, many of which are ill-prepared to manage travel from homes—which are usually in the outskirts—to urban centers where schools, offices, and economic hubs are located.
Bogotá tried to solve this problem a few years ago with initially dazzling results.
In December 2000, the city inaugurated TransMilenio, a system of 12 rapid bus lines inspired by Curitiba, Brazil, which eased congestion. “It was a miracle,” said Darío Hidalgo, one of the system’s first managers.
Soon, imitators emerged around the world who wanted to replicate the experience of relieving traffic congestion for crowds, at low cost for passengers and without the slow construction required, for example, by an underground metro. Other cities have opted for electric vehicles to help protect the environment.
Michael Kimmelman, architecture critic at The Times, was recently in Bogotá. He wanted to know what had happened to that innovative project he knew in 2012. He spoke with the mayor and other former officials. He rode a new cable car system that helps Bogotá residents living in the hills go up and down. He crossed the city accompanying María Victoria Vélez, a regular TransMilenio user. And he realized that some of the old problems had returned and that there were new challenges: bus capacity, but also political will and financing.
Discover Bogotá with public transport users in Michael’s report.
What is your daily commute like? Do you feel it is improving or getting worse? We would like to know the details of your experience. At the end of Michael’s article, there is a form. We invite you to write to us and share the traffic situation in your community.
We have received some emails about the situation in Guatemala, regarding a recent report. Here are two of them, lightly edited for clarity and space:
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“The incessant attacks on democracy in Guatemala are predictable. But what has been magnificent is the response of the country’s indigenous