Accessibility, affordability and equity: Assessing ‘pro-poor’ public transport subsidies in Bogotá

Abstract

Public transport has claimed a preferential position in recent urban development agendas internationally. Rising interest on inclusive development of cities at different levels of urban policy involves new opportunities and challenges for increasingly urban societies. In cities of the Global South, in addition to institutional and physical challenges for the development of efficient and inclusive public transport, local governments face the challenge of making public transport affordable for a large share of the population in conditions of poverty. In order to meet these challenges, several public transport systems throughout have implemented targeted subsidies for specific social groups such as students, the elderly and people with reduced mobility, and more recently for the poor. The government of Bogotá has implemented a pro-poor public transport subsidy scheme that aims at alleviating the em. This research develops an analysis of the effects of such subsidy from an accessibility perspective using potential accessibility measures to employment opportunities and assess its impact on equity. The research builds on the hypothesis that accessibility is a multidimensional construct that can benefit from the decrease in economic as much as gains in time costs. Results from the analysis show that both the current structure of the pro-poor subsidies in Bogotá and alternative scenarios for increasing its coverage are progressive, improving accessibility and equity for those with access to the subsidy. The paper provides valuable insights for the analysis of similar policies in other urban contexts in the Global South.

Measuring the potential emission reductions from a shift towards public transport

“…The issue of public transport subsidies for low-income socio-demographic groups in Bogotá, Colombia is presented by research carried out by Guzman and Oviedo (2018). In this study 'pro-poor' public transport financial aid provided by the Colombian government is analysed for its impact in tackling accessibility problems experienced by low-income households in Bogotá.…”

“…A gravity model was created, which considered the origin zones of commuting trips and job destinations, to determine the effect of transport provision, land-use and trip cost on accessibility to job opportunities in different locations. A baseline (2011) scenario and alternative (2015) scenario were then created utilising the generalised costs of commuting by public transport in the model, in addition to job locations and cost-sensitive parameters for the baseline (Guzman and Oviedo, 2018). These scenarios were modelled using VISUM (micro simulation) modelling software, to explore the differences in accessibility between the two years.…”

¿Qué implica la accesibilidad en el diseño e implementación de políticas públicas urbanas?: Concepto, instrumentos para su evaluación y su rol en la planificación de la movilidad urbana

“…En Colombia existen diversos estudios sobre accesibilidad producto de un fuerte impulso en el abordaje académico de la temática en ciudades como Bogotá y Cali (Bocarejo S. y Oviedo H. 2012;Delmelle y Casas 2012;Guzman, Oviedo, y Rivera 2017;Guzman y Oviedo 2018;Scholl et al 2016). Por ejemplo, Bocarejo y Oviedo (2012) desarrollan un indicador de accesibilidad basado en actividades para Bogotá, para explorar los efectos de políticas de transporte sobre la accesibilidad a los puestos de trabajo.…”

Turcu, C; (2019) Nacka City (Västra Sicklaön): showcasing studio teaching and student work. [Book]. UCL Bartlett School of the Built Environment: London, UK.

“…In 2014, the government of Bogotá introduced a 'pro-poor' public transport subsidy scheme that aims to assist low-income households and their accessibility to the city's public transport system -including access to the Transmilenio or the city's local Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service (Crawford ca. 2011;Rodriguez & Peralta Quiros, 2016;Guzman & Oviedo, 2018). The design of the scheme was supported by the World Bank in 2013 (Rodriguez & Peralta Quiros, 2016); the scheme enables citizens that live Bogotá with a SISBEN score (Colombia's index for household economic well-being - Vélez et al, 1998) of 40 or less to opt for a public transit subsidy that discounts the fare to almost half-price.…”

“…The service also runs free feeder buses from low-income communities located on the outskirts of the city that are yet to be integrated to public transit networks (Crawford ca. 2011;Guzman & Oviedo, 2018). Ticket prices are kept uniform across all stations to ensure that those located further away (often communities in less affluent areas) are not penalised with increased costs (Crawford, ca.…”