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Colombia says "Yipi" for public transit
Published on Transport for Development (http://blogs.worldbank.org/transport) Home > Colombia says "Yipi" for public transit
Colombia says "Yipi" for public transit
Submitted by Leonardo Canon Rubiano On Thu, 06/18/2015 coauthors: Ramon MunozRaskin As many Colombian cities struggle to keep public transit ridership levels, one city is innovating using technology, gendersensitive employment, and ideas from Asia to curb the “mototaxiing revolution” and restore ridership loss.
Mototaxis in Sincelejo, Colombia. Photos: Leonardo Canon An increasing “motorbike revolution” – represented by spectacular increase in motorbike motorization and reliance on doortodoor motorized services – has changed the rules of the game and cannot be obviated in transport systems. Flicking through the Uber website, we found that the company used to offer an “UberMoto” service in Paris from 2012 to 2013. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, the local Colombian newspaper headlines discuss the legislation forbidding male passengers on motorcycles in a number of cities in an effort to curb mototaxis. The impact of motorbikes cannot be ignored. Purchase of motorbikes and operation of mototaxis have been identified as key drivers for a modal shift from public transit to private vehicles in many places around the world, including Colombia. The nationwide phenomenon of mototaxis has revolutionized mobility in small and mediumsize Colombian cities, and has become a source of income for many. In many ways, motorbikes – and especially mototaxi services – have taken a bite out of public transit initiatives. Over the last decade, Colombia’s National Urban Transport program (NUTP) has achieved remarkable visibility in the http://blogs.worldbank.org/transport/print/colombiasaysyipipublictransit
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