The media debate around the letter sent by Ricardo Lagos to the commission investigating Transantiago has focused on aspects of form and trifles that are not even remotely close to trying to understand the root of the problem that now affects millions of Santiago, and accept their political responsibility or not, or should attend in person to the commission. The letter is much more than that, is his statement, the essence of the transport policy designed and executed during his tenure. A then reproduce and analyze their fundamentals (quotes in italics):
Transantiago Plan was part of a public policy that allowed the profound transformation of transport infrastructure of our country and required emergency plans and programs to suit the modern . This Plan was based on two axes.
The first line refers to the need to continue making progress on motorway concession by the private sector now be built in the urban sector of the metropolitan area. That program, which began strongly with President Frei, had allowed up to Chile along a series of highways that were running at the time of taking office. Strongly support the need run the whole urban freeways that exist today in Santiago. These urban highway speed to allow more private transport, thus decongest the roads used transport buses. The highway concessions have become example management and efficiency for several countries in Latin America and the world (...).
The second axis has to do with the great effort being made to extend the Metro Santiago. This, for 30 years, had gained a total network with a total of about 40kms. In 6 years, more than doubled this amount and at the end of my Government had 90kms Metro. approx. And were the measures taken so that the line extension to Maipu and the Dominicans, unable to reach 105kms. extension.
Reading between the lines
First of all, it seems that for the former president, Transantiago is not only a new public transport system, is also the whole infrastructure for private transport. Urban highways facilitate and encourage travel by car ... contradiction with one of the stated objectives of Transantiago: Increase or at least maintaining the percentage of trips made by public transport. Total confusion. Transantiago has nothing to do with urban highways, have been conceived as two separate schemes that rowing in opposite directions, which have no beneficial relationship or coordination with each other. Visit the official website Transantiago, where are the freeways, according to Ricardo Lagos is one of the axes of the plan? Note the investiture of confused.
then stated that his goal is to have a modern transportation system, which is accomplished with more infrastructure. This is the beginning and end: More concrete, great works that show, and certainly open . It seems a contradiction, but this solution, presented here in order to have more currency, is the most outdated. It is known as "predict and Provide " and in short is to solve the problems of congestion with more infrastructure, a road that followed historically countries with almost infinite budget to build public works such as the U.S.. Today and for over thirty years, is known around the world, in the field of urban transport, this road leads nowhere, and that actual results achieved by measures smarter investments that do not require obscene money, such as traffic management and the existing infrastructure, management of transport demand (in order to influence the need to travel or trip features: relocation of activities, incentives carpool, telework, etc.) congestion pricing, a rational and effective investment in public transport, promoting non-motorized modes of transport, etc.. None of this existed in practical terms for former President Lagos, only the need for more infrastructure. Then
said the two axles that support the plan Transantiago New highway concessions to Santiago and the expansion of the metro network. Ie on the basis of plan ... buses are not! We immediately heart of the matter, the answer to all questions, the root of all evil: The design of Ricardo, the priorities were always his meter and its highways. Always. This explains the two packages of projects were generated, built and opened without delay during his tenure, while modernizing the bus system was a necessary evil, a chub, a program that suffered constant delays and arrears, with a meager budget coordinators general lasted three months and came to learn on Transantiago in office.
With respect to plan for urban highways, speaks of him as a need ... Why, if as in this blog we discussed at length in the medium and long term not only not solve the problems of congestion, but get worse? Perhaps the answer to why the roads were a necessity depends on the goal: To have a better transportation system or electoral gains?
Then comes a little creepy, to say that urban highways decongest the streets for the buses. Do we want to convince you that one of the objectives or Vespucio Sur Costanera Norte is to help public transportation? If we believe it, we're all crazy. Urban highways are to walk faster cars and project a modern image. Point. Any comparative analysis is made of the movement of buses with and without motorways, going to now there is less congestion for them. A faster flow of buses is achieved with lanes for buses, not segregated lanes for cars (sounds of platitude, but it seems necessary to clarify). Moreover, a serious phenomenon that occurs on the highway Vespucio North and South, is that the new infrastructure extremely difficult of access to buses by the users, who must now undergo long walks and crossing bridges to get to bus stops, due to the physical segregation of the road.
Finally, his summary of what was to come with the new bus system:
By replacing long runs that have meant mostly empty buses circulating the whole day through downtown Santiago, devised a system of trunk, as it were consolidated, would increasingly looking to Metro: pay zones, exclusive lanes for public transport, bus stops deferred, drivers would gain by cutting ticket. What was sought was that core services are moving more quickly and securely to users.
regard, the minister René Cortázar said last week that only now are working on the design of a sequential plan for the construction of segregated lanes for buses in the main, and that will be taken as management measures to expedite their movement. So, before 2007, there was never a serious plan for Transantiago infrastructure (read: buses ... although not part of the two axes of the plan itself) with defined deadlines and budget. Now they're doing, because the harsh reality has shown its necessity. In its design stage, Transantiago did not consider the existence of extravehicular payment stations or pay areas. Those that exist (in a good performance but improved, inexplicably few) also built on the fly. The policy
Ricardo Lagos, surface public transport has always been the poor relation of its highways and Their meter. After all, this letter is the extended version of his definition of the plan, made in a few words while still ruled:
"We are 47 kilometers from Metro, ... 260 km of motorways class y. .. buses, as befits a modern city. " (Ricardo Lagos Escobar, 13/Mayo/2004) ----
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