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Colombia-Singapore to launch collaboration on travel demand management for Bogota with IDB support

BOGOTÁ, Colombia - A partnership agreement between Colombia and Singapore on travel demand management for Bogotá was announced in Bogotá. Under the scope of the collaboration, Singapore will provide technical assistance and transfer of best practices to the city of Bogotá in the area of smart congestion management practices and technology for transport infrastructure. 

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) played a key role in the origination and technical design of this collaboration. The collaboration was structured under the framework of a partnership agreement signed between IDB and International Enterprise Singapore for cooperation activities in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2009. 

Together with the IDB the World Bank will also be part of a steering committee set up to support the progress and delivery of the study. 

This collaboration is part IDB’s financial and technical support to Bogotá’s transport development plans and to build up capabilities of its public transport agencies. The collaboration is also part of the new generation of sustainable urban mobility policy that the National Government of Colombia is promoting, in particular the implementation of the congestion and pollution charging scheme approved by Law 1450 of 2011. 

According to Carlos Mojica Transport Specialist at the IDB, “Bogotá has an enormous challenge in terms of mobility. The private vehicle fleet grows at a 10 percent yearly rate and is not showing any signs of slowing down. The city has taken major steps in the last decade boosting public transport and building bike lanes; however these actions must be complemented by a broader strategy to manage private car trips.” 

“Vehicles and infrastructure can be used in a smarter way to prevent and avoid long travel times. The Singapore case shows that the right economic incentives and the use of technology in transport systems can improve mobility conditions by managing travel demand. Their experiences with licensing and road pricing are unique and there is an opportunity to apply the underlying principles to the Bogotá case,” added Mojica. 

IDB, through the Office of Outreach and Partnerships, is developing strategic alliances with multiples agencies and organizations from Asia for joint projects in Latin America and the Caribbean.

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