Colombia's Self-Defeating Battle Against Uber

Which is an Uber car? The government order to 'immobilize' Uber vehicles is impossible to enforce.

It was probably inevitable that the arrival in Colombia of the taxi-type smartphone application Uber would generate protests - principally from traditional taxi drivers, who feel their business getting cut into.

The government responded to the taxi lobby the other day by authorizing police to 'immobilize' Uber

By putting more cars onto clogged roads,
Uber can worsen traffic congestion.

cars - an absurdity unless cops are psychic, since Uber vehicles carry no outside markings.

The cabbies' concerns are understandable, but their fight against technology is futile. If not Uber, then another vehicle sharing system will appear...and then another.

On the other hand, government concerns about vehicle safety, tax payments and driver training, are more legitimate. But distinguishing between Internet-based car-sharing and plain old car pooling will be difficult.

Speaking of car pooling, despite Bogotá's worsening traffic congestion, the city has never seriously promoted ride sharing, either by setting up a peer-to-peer ride-sharing program or by creating car pool lanes for vehicles with multiple passengers.

Bogotá policies to promote car-sharing have accomplished
nothing. But car-sharing apps could be a solution. 

The appearance of ride-sharing applications such as Uber is a great chance for Bogotá and other cities to reduce use of the single-passenger vehicle, which is the least efficient way to use road space.

Uber can worsen traffic congestion by luring more cars onto limited road space and drawing passengers from more efficient public transport. But it can also be positive, by reducing pressure to buy private cars.

By working with Uber-type applications rather than trying futilely to ban them, Colombia might have a chance to reduce traffic congestion.

But it can't do that by blocking change.

The owner of this 'public service vehicle' has a sticker announcing that he's not Uber to avoid police hassles.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Is Bogota a Smart City?

Bogotá tomorrow? A futuristic urban vision at the Smart Cities Conference.

The Smart Cities Conference in Corferias ended yesterday with talks about water management.

But Smart Cities are still, with isolated exceptions, a fantasy. And Bogotá is not one of those exceptions. A decade ago, the city was seen as a pioneer, with its bike lane network and TransMilenio express bus system. Today, TransMilenio is in a perpetual crisis, many bike lanes are neglected, and the city has not adopted new methods for managing waste, traffic, energy and other urban issues.

A smart city has intelligent traffic lights which give priority to mass transit. (Not in Bogotá.) A smart city has a flexible electricity grid, which charges different rates depending on demand. (Not Bogotá.) A smart city has permeable street and other surfaces to let rainwater sink into the soil instead of filling waterways with pollutants. (But not Bogotá.)

For its part, the Smart Cities Conference exhibited some cutting edge concepts which aren't likely to be adopted here soon. And, lamentably, for an event supposed to protect the environment, many exhibitors seemed to believe that the best route to reducing one's impact on the world is thru more consumerism.

Samsung natural gas-powered washer and dryer on display. I asked the young woman what the most energy efficient method was for drying clothing. 'With natural gas,' she replied. I guess she's never heard of a technology called 'the clothesline'.

An electric car on display. Unfortunately, most of the taxi drivers who were recently issued electric cars quickly returned them. Meanwhile, more than 100,000 conventional, polluting, traffic congesting private cars enter Bogotá every year.

A taxi blocks a TransMilenio bus in central Bogotá. Smart cities enforce laws against stopping in intersections and have systems to give priority to mass transit. 

A display shows the environmental and economic benefits of natural gas driven vehicles. Unfortunately, the Colombian government recently gave in to public pressure to cut gasoline prices.

Collecting huge sacks of trash in front of a McDonald's in downtown Bogotá. A smart city would impose economic penalties on big trash porducers.  

Trash overflows from a bin labeled 'Environmental Management System.' Smart cities have banned or taxed packaging such as plastic bags and styrofoam, but Bogotá has not.  

WOMA, a Medellin design company, invented this system for bus stops in which passengers are supposed to pedal while waiting. But if you're willing to sit and pedal, then why not ride a bike there in the first place?

Jane Martin, an architect from San Francisco, California, described a program in which residents can break thru sidewalks and parking lots and plant urban gardens or ornamental plants. The policy, called Plant SF, not only adds green spaces, but also makes the ground permeable, allows rainwater to enter the soil, reducing flooding and pollution.

A San Francisco sidewalk transformed by urban planters.

A photo Jane Martin took in La Candelaria during a recent rainstorm, when waters backed up sewage into the streets.

The interior of Corferias. Why didn't they build it with transparent roof panels to let in sunlight and cut the electricity bill. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours