This paper explores the mobility impacts of Bogotá, Colombia’s decades-long BRT investment on low wealth households and offers guidance for planners working toward equitable distribution of benefits from major transit projects. Bogotá’s TransMilenio BRT system has been widely recognized for positive impacts on congestion, safety, and air quality. Introduced in December 2000 to address a long-term mobility crisis, TransMilenio is the gold standard for low-cost, sustainable urban transport around the world. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that TransMilenio has not improved—and has perhaps even diminished—mobility among low wealth households.This paper makes the case for evaluating the impacts of transit investments based not just on ridership, but also on the transit system’s ability to meet the needs of lower wealth, transit captive, and/or marginalized individuals. It also summarizes recent research on various impacts of Bogotá’s BRT investment that, when examined holistically, suggest the system has failed to meet its own expectations with respect to equitable distribution of mobility benefits. The paper concludes by discussing potential explanations for this failure and proposing recommendations for planners and policymakers seeking more equitable outcomes for massive transit investments in developing cities.
Tabitha Combs (Sun,) studied this question.