Colombia's Medellin rides cable car to a better future

Google – AFP, Ariela Navarro (AFP), 25 January 2014

Picture showing the Metrocable cable railway in Santo Domingo neighbourhood

 in Medellin, Antioquia department, Colombia, on January 5, 2014 (AFP/File,

Fredy Amariles Garcia)

Medellín — Medellin's "cable car of the poor," soaring over the slums of Colombia's second largest city, has revolutionized this former drug lord fiefdom and inspired other violent Latin American cities.

The city of 2.5 million, long considered one of the most dangerous places on the planet, has seen crime rates fall and neighborhood life return thanks to new public services in some of its poorest areas.

At the center of the strategy to reclaim the slums is a transportation system that now includes subways, the cable car, hillside escalators and even public libraries at metro stations.

Picture showing the Metrocable cable

 railway in Santo Domingo neighbourhood

 in Medellin, Antioquia department,

 Colombia, on January 5, 2014 (AFP/

File, Fredy Amariles Garcia)

It "creates a sense of belonging," said Juliana Correa, communications director for the Metro de Medellin.

"Before, the people of the hillside slums would say, 'I'm going down to Medellin.' Now they feel part of the city," he said.

At the Acevedo station, where the subway and Metrocable meet, a huge library welcomes residents from the gritty neighborhoods surrounding it -- and also tourists who ride the cable car for the spectacular birds eye views of the city.

"This was a very violent neighborhood, not that busy, so there was no transportation," Luz Valdes, at a small grocery store just outside the station, told AFP.

"Now there are many jobs and many tourists from far away visit the neighborhood because it's very nice with the Metrocable and library."

'Dark, long night'

It is all a far cry from just a few years ago.

Medellin went through "a dark, long and painful night", the mayor, Anibal Gaviria, told AFP, referring to the 1990s, when the drug lord Pablo Escobar unleashed a wave of violence.

Then, the city had a startling homicide rate of 380 per 100,000 inhabitants and the dubious distinction of being known as the murder capital of the world.

Last year, the murder rate was 10 times lower according to the mayor. Other studies support the claim that there has been a sharp drop in violence.

To change the dynamic local governments have employed a kind of "urban acupuncture," bringing to bear a welter of programs designed to reach long neglected shantytowns.

With an $88 million budget in 2014, the plan provides transportation at critical points and promotes education, culture, health and the deployment of security forces.

People chat next to a section of the

covered outdoor escalators at Comuna

13, one of the poorest neighbourhoods

of Medellin, Antioquia department,

Colombia, on January 5, 2014 (AFP/

File, Fredy Amariles Garcia)

The Metrocable opened in 2004, and the subway system has also added on a bicycle rental service.

But the most striking initiative is a system of outdoor escalators that has served Comuna 13, one of the poorest and most violent areas in Medellin, since December 2011.

Instead of trudging up 350 concrete steps, residents take escalators now.

"Projects such as the Metrocable, the metro, the escalators and the libraries imply the presence of the state in places in the city that had been abandoned," Gaviria said.

'Cable car of the poor'

None of this is to say that Medellin does not still have considerable problems. In Comuna 1, which is served by a cable car, gangs maintain a discreet presence.

But Ferney Navarro, a resident of 32 years, told AFP: "There is more control from the authorities.

A man walks with his mules past the

 Metrocable cable railway station in

 San Javier neighbourhood in Medellin,

 Antioquia department, Colombia, on 

January 5, 2014 (AFP/File, Fredy

Amariles Garcia)

"Seeing so many tourists coming, the government has had to tighten control. Before we were totally abandoned, but now we have more protection."

A study by Columbia University in the United States found the homicide rate in the slums of Medellin where Metrocable serves dropped by 66 percent between 2003 and 2008.

This decrease coincides with a sharp drop in homicides in Colombia -- from 78 per 100,000 population in 1991 to 32 in 2012.

The rate, however, remains well above the Latin American average of 15.6 , according to the Organization of American States.

A secret of Medellin's success has been its ability to adapt initiatives that have worked elsewhere in the world.

At the same time, the city has become "an inspiration for other cities living difficult times," said the mayor.

Thus the Metrocable -- "the cable car of the poor" -- has been replicated in Curitiba, in southern Brazil, and Caracas, capital of Venezuela.

Since 2010 in San Agustin del Sur, in the west of Caracas, a Metrocable carries more than 40,000 people a day on a nine-minute ride from the foot of a mountain to the populous neighborhoods overhead.

That initiative's success led Venezuelan authorities to begin building another cable car serving Mariche neighborhood in February 2012.

Another is scheduled for December this year for Petare, the largest slum in the Venezuelan capital and one of the most overcrowded in Latin America.

Construction of Jakarta`s subway to start earlier

Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The Jakarta city administration said it will start construction of an underground railway track one year earlier than the original schedule of 2010. 

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said apart from facilitating economic development in the city, the project will help provide jobs for 50,000 people. Local products will make up most of the building materials and equipment used in the construction of the project, Bowo said. 

Construction will be handled by a Japanese contractor in cooperation with local partners, Bisnis Indonesia reported. 

Source: Business in Asia Today - Oct. 29, 2008 / published by Asia Pulse

Kiev offering help to set up Jakarta`s subway system

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Kiev city administration in Ukraine has offered subway development assistance to the Jakarta city government which is planning to have a mass rapid transportation system, Kiev Deputy Mayor Sergiy Yaroslavovych Rudik said here Thursday.

Kiev which already has a subway system with 40 stations was ready to send experts to Jakarta to help Jakarta build a subway system, Rudik said after signing a memorandum of understanding on establishment of sister-city relations between Jakarta and Kiev.

The Kiev subway experts could help minimize mistakes in the selection of locations for Jakarta`s subway system, he said.

Rudik also invited Jakarta entrepreneurs to participate in several sport stadium construction projects in Kiev which would host the European Cup tournament in 2012.

Meanwhile, Jakarta Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo who signed the MoU with Kiev said Jakarta and Kiev had intended to establish sister-city relations since 2005.

"But we have been able to realize the plan only now, in 2007," said Bowo who was impressed by the beauty of Kiev when he visited the Ukraine capital some time ago.

He said the sister-city cooperation would consist of programs to develop city transportation, city parks, small- and medium-scale businesses, culture and sports.

Water taxi to launch despite problems

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Jakarta administration has continued to shrug off criticism of its water taxi project, saying it is confident about launching the project in the near future despite incomplete infrastructure and rivers full of debris.

Governor Sutiyoso said recently the city administration still wanted to launch the service soon, regardless of its problems, in order to promote the use of rivers for transportation.

"It's not just a matter of (raising awareness for) commercial purposes," he said.

"We also want people to begin a new habit of not throwing garbage in the river because it could interfere with the water taxis."

The water taxi launch was initially slated for the end of this month. The planned service will ply a 4.2-kilometer route from Karet in Central Jakarta to Manggarai in South Jakarta.

The city administration has already provided two speedboats, named Kerapu III and Kerapu VI, for the route. The boats previously serviced routes in Kepulauan Seribu regency, better known as the Thousand Islands.

The administration has also built water taxi stops in Karet Belakang, Halimun and Dukuh Atas.

Khairul, the captain of one of the vessels, said that the biggest problem for him was garbage along the river.

He said that several kinds of garbage, such as thick plastic and fabric, got stuck in boat's motor.

"Unlike with passengers on a bus, where they can easily move to another bus if it breaks down, I still have no idea how to manage it if that happens to a water taxi," he said.

Khairul added that there was no alternative but for the city administration to improve the condition of the Ciliwung River to allow water taxis to operate smoothly.

Jakarta Transportation Agency head Nurrachman said he had coordinated with other agencies to clean up the water taxi route.

"It's a matter of people's awareness because they're always throwing their household garbage in the river. So people have to play an important role in the program," he said.

The water taxi service is part of the city's integrated Mass Rapid Transport project, which also involves the busway, subway and monorail projects.

The busway was launched two years ago. It now comprises seven corridors linking a number of areas of the city.

The two most ambitious projects, the subway and monorail system, are estimated to cost the city a combined total of US$1,450 billion.

Central govt threatens car quota to boost mass transit

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

If a sustainable transportation system is not developed to reduce air pollution in Jakarta, the government will start limiting car sales in the capital, the State Ministry for the Environment warned.

The state ministry's deputy assistant for emissions control, Ridwan Tamin, said Friday the existing transportation system in Jakarta has not encouraged private car owners to switch to public transportation.

"Completion of the busway and monorail systems are half-hearted efforts. The government needs to get moving and finish what it has started," Ridwan told The Jakarta Post.

"If air pollution remains at high levels, it is feasible to ban private car sales."

He said it was time the automotive industry assisted the city administration in developing the public transportation system.

"The government needs to enforce the law on emissions tests, as stipulated in air pollution control bylaws."

He said sustainable transportation must be eco-friendly and accessible to all levels of society.

"The government must improve the busway by setting up more stops and providing feeder buses to ease congestion. Sustainable transportation is urgently needed," Ridwan said.

Some busway buses operate on eco-friendly compressed natural gas (CNG) and are part of the city's mass rapid transit (MRT) system, which is aimed at resolving long-standing transportation problems. Plans to improve the MRT system include the addition of subway, monorail and waterway transportation options.

Seven busway corridors, out of a planned 15, are currently in operation. The waterway project is expected to begin in June.

There are now more than 2.5 million private cars and 3.8 million motorcycles in the city -- and only 255,000 public transportation vehicles.

The government says private car ownership rises by at least 11 percent each year, far higher than the 1 percent increase in newly constructed roads annually.

At this rate the city will be gridlocked by 2014.

The government recorded only 48 days of clean air in Jakarta last year, up from 28 recorded in 2005.

Transportation expert from the University of Indonesia, Susanto Soehodho, said the automotive industry has a responsibility to help the government set up a sustainable transportation system.

He said the automotive industry should set aside a percentage of income from car sales to improve the public transportation system.

Sutiyoso sure water taxi is a winner

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As Sutiyoso's time as governor draws to a close, the people around him are working against time to ensure his plan to establish an inland water transportation system gets off the ground by the middle of the year.

City transportation agency head Nurachman said Friday the water taxi's Ciliwung River route -- from Karet in Central Jakarta to Manggarai sluice gate in South Jakarta was a well-chosen pilot program to gauge the appeal of water-based transportation.

"We hope passengers can try out the 4.2-kilometer route as early as June," he told The Jakarta Post.

"The city public works agency is currently in the process of repairing the West Flood Canal, which intercepts the Ciliwung, to make way for the water taxi service."

The administration has so far built water taxi stops in Karet Belakang, Dukuh Atas and PD PAL Jaya subdistricts.

The administration also plans to construct riverbank stations, where passengers will be able to make ticket purchases.

The type of vessels that will be employed has yet to be announced.

Despite his deputy, Fauzi Bowo, challenging the suitability of the system given the fact that many of the city's rivers are silted up with mud and rubbish, Sutiyoso is convinced it's a good way to ease traffic congestion on city streets. He is determined to see the service offered before his term ends in July.

Ciliwung River is the largest of the 13 rivers that cut through the capital.

All 13 rivers are seriously polluted.

The Jakarta Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD) said the water taxi service could actually improve the state of the city's rivers.

"We would constantly be monitoring the water quality and would certainly make it a priority to get rid of the stench. We're also planning to landscape the banks so commuters can enjoy a nice view," said Ridwan Panjaitan, the head of air pollution control at the agency.

The water taxi service is part of the city's integrated MRT project, comprising also the busway, subway and monorail systems.

Sutiyoso's first project, the busway, was launched two years ago.

There are currently seven corridors linking a number of areas of the city. Another eight corridors are under construction.

The monorail, meanwhile, will comprise two lines -- the green line and the blue line -- and cost an estimated US$650 million.

The 14.3-kilometer green line will run through Central Jakarta and South Jakarta, from Jl. Rasuna Said and Jl. Gatot Subroto to the Sudirman business district, and then to Senayan, Jl. Pejompongan and back to Jl. Rasuna Said.

The blue line will link Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta to Roxy, West Jakarta.

Meanwhile, the planned subway would run from Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta, to Kota in West Jakarta.

It is expected to cost US$800 million.

Sutiyoso insisted that subway must be built in 2008

BeritaJakarta.com Jakarta Governor, Sutiyoso, asked that the construction of subway in Jakarta can be made faster. Sutiyoso even insisted that subway must be built in 2008. “We just had a coordination meeting about technical problem and schedule programmed by Dept. of Transportation. We asked for the schedule to be made faster,” said Sutiyoso, after the meeting with the Minister of Transportation, Hatta Radjasa, discussing about Mass Rapid Transit System.

However, it seems that Sutiyoso’s request will be so hard to accomplish. It is because Dept. of Transportation is targeting the first step of prototype will be finished in 2 years. It means the physical construction will be started in 2009. “To be frankly, I’m disappointed that the discussion needs 2 years,” added Sutiyoso.

Sutiyoso insisted that the construction must be started in 2008 so that it will be finished in 2012. Therefore, his team will meet with the subway project team from Japan. “We’ll ask the schedule to be working in separate ways or parallel way, so that it’ll be much faster,” said Sutiyoso.

Sutiyoso said that subway will be constructed through dense population route starting from Lebak Bulus until Dukuh Atas for 14.5km in length. However, not all the route of subway Jakarta will be underground. From the total length of 14.5km, only 14km will be underground, which is the track Istora-Dukuh Atas (4 stations) and of 12 stations planned, only 5 stations will be underground. Meanwhile, the sky-train of 10.5km in length will be in the track Lebak Bulus-Senayan (8 stations). As for the subway depot will be in Lebak Bulus. “Subway project has been planned since 9 years ago. It’ll surely affect the investment in Jakarta,” added Sutiyoso.

Subway as a part of Macro Transportation Pattern is believed will make Jakarta traffic-free. It is predicted that Jakarta will be in the state of total traffic in 2014. To make the program possible, Jakarta government will start buying land from the citizens. The first budget Rp 80 billion has been prepared. The budget comes from 2007 Jakarta local budget.

New busway routes launched

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Even though they are a little short on buses, four new busway corridors were officially opened by Governor Sutiyoso on Saturday.

Promising a full fleet of 216 vehicles to serve the new lines, the governor pleaded with Jakartans to be patient during the initial phase of operation.

The corridors are beginning with just eight buses each. They run from Ragunan to Kuningan, Kampung Rambutan to Kampung Melayu, Pulogadung to Dukuh Atas, and Kampung Melayu to Ancol.

During a pre-launch ceremony Friday, the head of the Jakarta Transportation Agency, Nurachman, had said each line would have 10 buses in the initial phase.

The governor said the administration had to go through a long process to import the buses. He hopes to have all of the vehicles in place by the end of February.

The ceremony at Ancol recreational park in North Jakarta featured a test run from Ancol to Cililitan, East Jakarta. The inaugural ride snarled traffic until the afternoon in several areas along the route.

The administration has high hopes for the new corridors, and is setting a target of 5,000 to 10,000 passengers for the four corridors per day.

In his speech, Sutiyoso said the busway was only a starting point for Jakarta's transportation plans.

The administration has already floated an ambitious goal of 15 busway corridors, two monorail lines, a subway and water transportation.

The city administration has long been criticized for failing to provide public transportation, resulting in the uncontrolled growth of private vehicle ownership and the city's notoriously wretched traffic.

"There is no city in the world that can keep building roads to keep up with the increasing number of vehicles," Sutiyoso said.

Instead, he added, the only way to offset the growth in private vehicles was to provide better public transportation.

"This is why I won't retreat, though there are many opponents to this policy. I want to show that these buses are the best answer to our traffic problems," he said.

Sutiyoso said three more corridors would be built this year. Public transportation vehicles which overlap with the busway routes will be grouped in a consortium.

Nyoman Iswarayoga, a passenger who attended the launch, hoped that the administration could quickly obtain the buses as well as an electronic ticketing system for the new corridors.

"I'm sure people will complain about long waits because the buses are limited," he told The Jakarta Post.

Until the bidding and installation process for an electronic ticketing system is completed, the new lines will use paper tickets.

The three existing lines -- Blok M-Kota, Pulogadung-Harmoni, and Kalideres-Harmoni -- all use electronic ticketing.

A study by the U.S.-based Institute for Transportation and Development Policy found that as many as 14 percent people of Jakarta's busway riders were previously private car users.

"Bogota (Colombia) had only five percent shift to their busway service. This is a good result," said Sutiyoso.

Agency mulls online ticketing for MRT

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Jakarta Transportation Agency is planning to apply an integrated ticketing for the mass rapid transit (MRT) system.

The online ticketing system would allow passengers to use the ticket for four transportation modes: the subway, monorail, busway and waterway, agency head Nurachman said Tuesday.

"Currently, we use smart card ticketing for the busway. We're looking forward to introducing a system that offers tickets to suit every journey, regardless of stages or modes," he said.

In an attempt to beat traffic congestion, the city administration is now working on the MRT project, comprising the busway, subway, monorail and waterway systems.

The three initial busway corridors are soon to be complemented by 12 others.

Data from busway operator BP TransJakarta shows that the first corridor, launched in early 2004, carries some 20,000 passengers a day. More than 100,000 people use the busway daily, 14 percent of whom are private car owners, according to a 2006 study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Corridors 4 to 7 are ready to be launched soon, while the other eight corridors are still under construction.

Nurachman said a "flat fare" system would be implemented for Corridors 4 to 7.

The subway, which will run from Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta, to Kota in West Jakarta, will be funded by a US$800 million loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), which was secured last year.

The development of planning and engineering feasibility studies is expected to be finished this year, while the first phase of the subway line from Lebak Bulus to Dukuh Atas, South Jakarta, is scheduled for completion by 2012.

The monorail will include two lines -- the green line and the blue line -- and cost an estimated US$650 million.

The 14.3-kilometer green line will run through Central Jakarta and South Jakarta, from Jl. Rasuna Said and Jl. Gatot Subroto to the Sudirman business district, and then to Senayan, Jl. Pejompongan and back to Jl. Rasuna Said. There will be 16 stations along the line.

The blue line will link Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta to Roxy, West Jakarta, and will have 11 stations.

Officials initially said the green line was due to be completed by the end of 2007, but it has been delayed due to funding problems.

Little progress has been made in the development of the waterway system.

Denny Taloga, who sits on City Council Commission D for public works, said Tuesday the integrated ticketing system would not be brought in until the feasibility studies were done.

"We will also have to consider the operational costs of the four transportation systems," he added.