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The Mayor’s Office of Bogotá officially presented the ‘bill and plate’ proposal for private vehicles. The main change that it raises and that is most controversial is to extend the restriction until Saturday, which in the history of the measure had not been touched, because it is the day that families have to go out to carry out pending proceedings or that they cannot do during the week.
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The announcement was made on Friday afternoon by the Secretary of Mobility, Nicolás Estupiñán, during a meeting with Mayor Claudia López, who he agreed to reinstate the restriction in the city.
The ‘peak and plate’ had been suspended since March 20, on the occasion of the beginning of the strict quarantine simulation and during these six months the issue had not been discussed, because it was considered that with the sanitary restrictions it was not necessary to maintain it. However, this week, with the first traffic jams on several of the capital’s main roads, the issue took hold again.
During the inauguration of the 63rd street bridge with Boyacá, the Secretary of Mobility announced that they were analyzing the alternatives, but did not give details, only that They did not want to “send” people to take public transport to avoid the crowds, nor did they want to affect health sector personnel.
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The project, which has already been published on the website of the Ministry of Mobility, for citizen comments, and does not seek to completely restrict the options of people who move around in a private car. Last night, Mobility announced that it will apply from next Tuesday.
Specifically, it is proposed to maintain the scheme that has been operating in the city. The plates finished in even number have restriction on even dates and when the last digit is odd, they cannot transit the odd days. But there is a variation in the days and hours. The project seeks that it goes from Monday to Saturday, from 6 am to 8:30 am and from 4 pm to 7:30 pm (before it was between 3:00 pm and 7:30 pm) and will govern the entire urban perimeter of the city.
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This means that, compared to the schedule that was applied before, it is cut by one hour in the afternoon-night shift, which according to the entity will facilitate the mobility of people who go by car. “Here we are analyzing the impacts on public transport, on the travel time of all modes and the facilities or difficulties in the control and pedagogical implementation”, Explained Estupiñán, who said that this is the most favorable scenario of those analyzed.
The entity estimates that this would help reduce travel times by 15.2% for all media and also reduce emissions of particulate matter. In fact, according to the Secretary, air pollution generates 2,000 deaths a year and road accidents, 500.
The draft decree contemplates the same exceptions of the old peak and plate (decree 846 of 2019), such as the presidential caravan, the vehicles of the diplomatic or consular service, electric, hearse, security and investigation agencies of the State, emergencies, of people with disabilities, public services and those destined to traffic control and school transport, plus three others: vehicles of people who work in the health sector, hybrid vehicles and shared cars, with the condition of three or more people, including the driver.
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But on this last point there is a clarification, and it is that Only those private vehicles that go from origin to destination with the occupants may benefit. This means: drivers who are detected on the route without that passenger quota may be penalized.
Furthermore, the ‘peak and plate’ proposal establishes a new exception. Those who pay to transit, or better known as a congestion charge, may aspire to it. The payment will be considered a contribution and must be made to the ‘Pico y placa solidario’ system. It would be $ 2’066,000 each semester.
To this would be added social compensation to the city for car use and the impacts that this generates. Said compensation would be through two ways: a minimum donation of 10% of the permit to the ‘Bogotá solidarity at home’ program or participation in the recycling program at home, promoted by Uaesp. In this aspect, it is proposed that there be 15 kilos of recycling in three months.
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The charge to be able to transit had been proposed by the previous administration and it contemplated participating in bicycle lane activities or in tree planting days. “But due to biosecurity they are not going to be implemented now,” explained Estupiñán.
The latter, however, did not leave the president very convinced, who said that that would apply for a reduction in the cost of the cleaning fee and not for the ‘peak and plate’. However, López considered that the congestion payment (in silver or with shared car) as being considered is “super-equitable” and recalled that this formula had been recommended and made by several experts to the Administration.
The mayor recommended that progress should be made towards the use of technology, such as a type of chip that allows verifying in real time how many kilometers it travels and the time it remains on the road making air emissions. However, the idea of the Secretariat is to summon citizens to propose, in a contest, an alternative to charge for congestion.
Reactions to the District’s Proposal
Darío hidalgo, Expert in sustainable mobility: With regard to the biannual charge to avoid the peak and plate, it is going in the right direction, but the Administration should think about an urban toll to the most congested areas, as they do in London or recently, Manhattan.
William Castro, mobility expert and professor at the National University: The city needed the measure and it was necessary to include Saturday. However, the two-digit taxis bill and plate should be removed, and the restrictions for individuals, taxis and buses presented as a joint measure, because there is no clarity.
Stalin Rojas, Director of the Mobility and Logistics Observatory of the National University: The measure is only a momentary measure and does not attack the underlying disease. It gives relief in the short term, but medium-term measures are needed, such as the construction of TransMilenio on 68, or the acceleration of the subway schedule.
Andrés Forero, Councilor of Bogotá for the Democratic Center: It strikes me because the pandemic has not yet gone, when it is necessary to promote that there are no concentrations in public transport. In addition, there is still the question of what happens with the people who match the peak and plate with the peak and ID.
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