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"An efficient, accessible, and low-cost transport system is a powerful tool to promote growth, alleviate poverty, and achieve social integration,"Â said Miguel Lopez-Bakovic, World Bank Country Manager for Colombia. "This project supports the Government of Colombia's efforts to improve living standards in the country's urban areas through better access to employment opportunities, and health and education services."Â
The ongoing Integrated Mass Transit Systems Project -originally supported by a US$250 million Bank loan approved in June 2004- is allowing cities to expand and/or construct bus rapid transit systems in medium and large cities, such as Bogota, Cartagena, and Pereira. The additional financing will help expand the project to Valle Aburra-Medellin, Barranquilla, and Bucaramanga.
The expansion of the program to three more participating cities is consistent with the existing project objectives to:
* Develop high quality and sustainable bus rapid transit systems in selected medium and large cities. The Bogota Transmilenio North Quito South Busway Corridor has been in operation since April 2006 with approximately 90,000 daily users, and the Pereira-Dosquebradas bus rapid transit system has been in operation since August 2006 with approximately 100,000 daily users. Civil works are underway in the remaining participating cities.
* Provide more feeder services (to and from poor areas) and fare integration in order to decrease the cost for users who take more than one bus to travel on one same route. These have been implemented in the bus rapid transit systems in operation and have been included in the designs for the upcoming ones.
* Strengthen institutional capacity at the national and local level to improve urban transport planning and management.An integrated implementing unit has been created within the Ministry of Transport to manage the larger program and five bus rapid transit agencies were created in the participant cities.
"This project builds on the successful experience of Bogota's Transmilenio bus rapid transit system by tailoring it to the needs of other Colombian cities,"Â said Mauricio Cuellar, World Bank task manager for the project. "Besides providing the urban poor with an efficient and comfortable transit system, the project will have overall positive effects onquality of life by reducing the number of accidents, reducing air pollution, and creating employment."Â
This US$207 million, fixed-spread loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (BIRF) is repayable in 13.5 years, and includes a grace period of 8.5 years. -World Bank
Posted June 13th, 2007 by Anastvatz
