What a Difference a (Car-Free) Day Makes!

Left, Carrera 30, near the Universidad Nacional, on a normal day,
and, right, today on Car-Free Day.

You can take a lot of conclusions out of these pairs of photos of Bogotá avenues on 'normal' days, left, and today's Car-Free Day, on the right. (I didn't necessarily take the photos at the same time of day, but the scenes are typical.) One thing is clear, however, on those 'normal' days traffic often barely moves. Today, there was room to move.

Left, Calle 26 on a normal day, and, right,
today on Car-Free Day.

While the streets were clearer, the air wasn't necessarily cleaner - underlining the city's lack of control on vehicle emissions. El Tiempo editor Ernesto Cortés wrote a scathing column about air pollution today.

I saw many more bicyclists than on an ordinary day.
These are riding on the bike lane on Ave. Septima.

Environmental officials reported that ozone and nitrogen dioxide levels dropped compared to normal day. But concentrations of tiny particles suspended in the air actually increased in the morning, before leveling off to 'normal.'

Buses moved considerably faster and both TransMilenio and SITP buses carried more passengers.

Liberal Party political campaigners pedal
down Ave. Septima. 

Environmental officials set up 9 air pollution measurement stations, where they measured the emissions of almost 600 vehicles - about 100 of which failed. As far as I can tell, Car Free Day is the only time when officials actually measure vehicle pollution in the streets (whether those vehicles are actually punished is another issue). By their probably non-too-strict standards almost 1 out of 5 vehicles failed. If they would only do such measurements on a regular basis and actually remove these vehicles from our streets, Bogotá's air quality, health and quality of life would rise notably.

Bogotá environmental officials reported that the number of cyclists sextupled today. I'd take that statistic with a grain of salt, but numbers did rise.

The city created a temporary bike lane along the length of Ave. Septima - it should be there every day. These costumed bicyclists found the new lane useful. 

TransMilenio buses were packed. 

But SITP buses were, as always, almost empty. 

Not just cyclists - skateboarders also used the bike lanes.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Scenes from 'Car-Free' Day

An impossible scene on a normal day: A bicyclist has the whole street to himself in the Santa Fe neighborhood. 

Today was Bogotá's annual Car-Free Day, when privately-owned cars - but not taxis, buses, work or official vehicles - are banned from the streets.

This block in La Candelaria
is normally blocked with cars
 parked against the sidewalk. 

The decade-old event begun by Mayor Enrique Peñalosa is intended to get auto-addicts thinking about alternative ways to get around, such as bikes and mass transit. At that, it's only a partial success, since many car users simply postpone trips to the next day. Commerce and activity generally declined today. I saw fewer street merchants and the public markets were quieter.

'This Thursday Feb. 2
the city takes a deep
breath thanks to
Car-Free Day.'

But I did see more bicyclists out today, as well as many more motorcycles. Traffic in general was down, making the city peacefuler, a bit less polluted and easier to navigate thru.

The Car-Free Day riles many auto addicted bogotanos, who have so internalized traffic jams that they take them for granted instead of seeing them as the urban blights they are. But hopefully perhaps it also opens a few people's minds.

However, to really change people's habits, we'd need both more frequent Car-Free Days and longer periods without cars. Those things aren't likely to come soon. But Mayor Gustavo Petro's plan to create a congestion fee for private car use just might accomplish something similar.

Experts from the National University reported that sulphur and ozone air pollutantion did not decline significantly during the Car-Free Day - principally because many of Bogotá's buses are decades old. I'd say, rather, blame it on the pollution - whether the vehicles are new or old.

"In 12 years of reflection with Car-Free Day, today we haven't taken a single action which contributes to solve these transit problems which burden the city," said the director of the Observatory on Logistics and Transit of the Center for Development Research at the National University, who has the notable name of Jose Stalin Rojas.

Sr. Rojas is exaggerating, at least a bit - if not for the TransMilenio express bus system and the Pico y Placa rule the city would be even worse. Let's hope that new mayor Gustavo Petro does bring some real changes, including a congestion charge and the Integrated Public Transit System (SITP).

On a normal afternoon, this intersection is in gridlock. Today, the skateboarders and pedestrians  are in the clear.

Here's the same spot on a normal day. Does this make any transit sense?

And this avenue near the Universidad Central normally is a traffic jam every evening. Today, things were moving. 

Impossible on an ordinary afternoon, workers roll a cart carrying lumber down a La Candelaria street. 

'Fewer cars, more clean air' says this bus stop billboard.

The Gran Estacion shopping mall got into it with this newspaper ad - which offers to refund part of shoppers' taxi fares. How's that for logical?

Ceramic floormaker Alfa got into things with this ad in El Tiempo urging people to 'Give some fresh air to your house with Alfa...'

but alongside Alfa's ad was one selling cars...

It was not a motorcycle-free day. 

Or a pollution-free day. Note the grey sky. 

The red light district still had some activity. 

Normally, the Palo Quemao Market's parking lot is crowded at mid-day. 

Today, workers played soccer in the market's parking lot. 

Waiting in a crowded TM station. 

Zorreros, or horsecarts, were not banned. 

Related Posts:

Bogotá: One-Way Trip to Becoming Los Angeles, Calif.?

Green or Grey Bogotá?

End of the Line for for Bogotá's Traffic Congestion?

Why expensive car fuel is a bargain for Colombia

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Bogotá's Car-Free Day

Car-Free Day? But look at how blue the sky is!

Thursday Feb. 3 was Bogotá's annual Car-Free Day, renamed recently by the mayor as Clean Air Day. Both are misnomers, of course, judging by the thousands of taxis on the streets (aren't they cars?) and the smog-belching buses.

A group of U. de los Andes students pedaling home. But
how many of them rode the next day?

Still, the day did make a difference - according to El Tiempo newspaper, airborne soot declined 16 percent, carbon monoxide 44 percent, sulphur dioxide 49 percent and nitrous dioxide 18 percent. However, ozone concentrations increased by 9 percent. Authorities cited 151 buses for violating pollution laws - which seems like a token number, considering the thousands of 'rolling chimneys' in this city. El Tiempo reported that the number of cyclists increased 46 percent. 

The reason why air pollution declined was made plain by El Tiempo's photos of the same spot on the Autopista Norte at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday - on Wednesday the traffic, mostly private cars, was congested and crawled along (while the Transmilenio buses did advance). On Thursday the buses, no longer blocked by private cars, advanced freely. (El Tiempo reported that public transit moved 15 percent faster.)


But, as this essay argues, the car-free day seems to have lost its original didactic purpose. Sure, I saw a few signs and posters boasting about the benefits of cleaner air. But, when Car-Free Day was created during the mayoralty of Enrique Peñalosa, it was supposed to encourage car owners to think of others ways of getting around. Of course, that's a lot to ask of a one-day event, especially in a city in which every car is banned from circulating two days each week anyway, based on its license plate number. This commentary describes the day as pretty futile, while this one describes Bogotá's traffic troubles without suggesting a solution.

Rather, based on what I've heard from callers to radio stations, most Bogotá car-owners think of the car-free day as a nuisance to be suffered through. For many, probably, it's an excuse to take a day off of work, which I guess that's their problem. But if the city really wants this event to make a difference, it should create a real educational campaign, together with serious economic incentives and disincentives, to get people out of their cars. Of course, the very best solution would be to make every day car-free day.

On Friday, smog's back again. 

By the next day's observations, the Car-Free Day didn't change many habits. Friday was yet another smoggy day. And, appropriately, Portfolio reported record numbers of new car sales. And this El Tiempo editorial  argues that the cars will keep coming, so the city better prepare for them. But why is that, any more than if bogotanos suddenly began buying thousands of elephants or jackhammers? City government would surely impose measures to restrict elephant and jackhammer use - so why does the city feel obliged to assume the costs of car ownership? This is particularly true in Bogotá, where private vehicles still account for only about 23 percent of trips.


Despite everything, Car-Free Day is important if only because it generates discussion about transit solutions here, and for at least one day a congested, car-crammed reality isn't taken for granted. Unfortunately, we're still waiting for real solutions (since Pico y Placa has so obviously failed): this article advocates measures including more bikes and carpools, but doesn't touch on the fundamental problem: too many damn cars!

Meanwhile, feeling quite quixotic, several of us from Bogota Bike Tours protested against air pollution along smoggy Seventh Ave.

On Car-Free Day, the city government announced several measures to combat air pollution, including banning those pollution-belching two-cycle motorcycles, requiring catalitic converters and filters on some vehicles and placing pollution limits on brick factories. But, judging by the utter lack of enforcement of existing laws, one wonders whether these will mean anything.

Anti-pollution laws, sadly, appear to be thoroughly ignored in this city - both by polluters and by those charged with enforcing the law. So, we're campaigning to change that!

No more air pollution!

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours