Comments on: Bus Rapid Transit and the Latin American City: Successes to Date, But Miles to Go http://www.coha.org/bus-rapid-transit-and-the-latin-american-city-successes-to-date-but-miles-to-go/ COHA is an NGO specialized in monitoring Latin American and Canadian Relations for more than 30 years... Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:22:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Mass Traffic Matrix http://www.coha.org/bus-rapid-transit-and-the-latin-american-city-successes-to-date-but-miles-to-go/comment-page-1/#comment-49488 Mass Traffic Matrix Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:08:17 +0000 http://www.coha.org/?p=7473#comment-49488 Woah this weblog is wonderful i like studying your posts. Keep up the good paintings! You understand, many individuals are looking round for this information, you can help them greatly. Woah this weblog is wonderful i like studying your posts. Keep up the good paintings! You understand, many individuals are looking round for this information, you can help them greatly.

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]]> By: Pablo Fereiro http://www.coha.org/bus-rapid-transit-and-the-latin-american-city-successes-to-date-but-miles-to-go/comment-page-1/#comment-37382 Pablo Fereiro Sat, 19 Jun 2010 21:15:59 +0000 http://www.coha.org/?p=7473#comment-37382 "In design and function, Bus Rapid Transit systems are essentially above ground metro systems. Equipped with stations, exclusive lanes, and prepaid fare collection, they are far more efficient than the loosely regulated private bus lines typical of contemporary Latin American urban mass transit systems." The problem with this article is that it is examining the transportation issue from an abstract, unconnected level. Bus transportation is a major facet of people's lives in Latin America, particularly since at least 20-30% of the population rely on buses as their major form of transportation. The creation of utilitarian, seemingly organized bus services may have superficial benefits, such as the more "modern appearance" you mention in your article, but they have been unsuccessful in adapting to the lives of the average Latin America. Your article is heavily biased toward the European and American style "clean" bus services. What you fail to mention, however, are the immense benefits the population in Latin America enjoys due to the "inefficient" bus services. These buses, as you stated, are owned by private companies -- and are thus able to stop at any given time on any given street corner. They travel vast distances, covering entire parameters of a city, including major avenues, streets, and residential neighborhoods. A bus system like Washington's Metro, on the other hand, fails to provide adequate access for D.C. residents. Many neighborhoods in Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland, for example, are forced to travel long distances - by car - to their nearest bus or Metro stations. Unless a transportation system is developed along the same patterns as cities such as New York or London, it is difficult to imagine an "organized" bus system working efficiently in Latin America. The "organized" and often intrusive approach Americans and Europeans often wish Latin America had in regard to transportations has been shown to be ineffective. Take Santiago, where the recent modernized bus system was labeled and continues to be "disastrous." Simply put, the seemingly "chaotic" layout of Latin American cities is unfit for an organized bus system that does not take into account non-traditional bus stops and routes. In Santiago, thousands of residents have found themselves lost and tardy for their various appointments due to the heavy inconveniences caused by BRT transportation systems. The underlying program with COHA is that it takes a seemingly elitist, condescending approach to Latin American issues and policies. This is unfortunately characteristic of many D.C.-based organisations; it would serve COHA well to consider the cultural implications of Northern, Western policies in a region that is immensely more diverse and complicated like Latin America. Regrettably, the "solve-all" approach taken by American NGOs and think-tanks (as well as European, and governmental organizations) has had disastrous consequences. Take Haiti or India, for example, where poverty has been unsuccessfully diminished due to the lack of cultural understanding with native peoples. Also, cite your sources. If research were done, the obvious example of the Santiago transportation system would have been mentioned in your article. Regards, Pablo Fereiro Português Aliança por um Brasil melhor Brasilia. "In design and function, Bus Rapid Transit systems are essentially above ground metro systems. Equipped with stations, exclusive lanes, and prepaid fare collection, they are far more efficient than the loosely regulated private bus lines typical of contemporary Latin American urban mass transit systems."
The problem with this article is that it is examining the transportation issue from an abstract, unconnected level. Bus transportation is a major facet of people's lives in Latin America, particularly since at least 20-30% of the population rely on buses as their major form of transportation. The creation of utilitarian, seemingly organized bus services may have superficial benefits, such as the more "modern appearance" you mention in your article, but they have been unsuccessful in adapting to the lives of the average Latin America. Your article is heavily biased toward the European and American style "clean" bus services. What you fail to mention, however, are the immense benefits the population in Latin America enjoys due to the "inefficient" bus services. These buses, as you stated, are owned by private companies — and are thus able to stop at any given time on any given street corner. They travel vast distances, covering entire parameters of a city, including major avenues, streets, and residential neighborhoods. A bus system like Washington's Metro, on the other hand, fails to provide adequate access for D.C. residents. Many neighborhoods in Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland, for example, are forced to travel long distances – by car – to their nearest bus or Metro stations. Unless a transportation system is developed along the same patterns as cities such as New York or London, it is difficult to imagine an "organized" bus system working efficiently in Latin America. The "organized" and often intrusive approach Americans and Europeans often wish Latin America had in regard to transportations has been shown to be ineffective. Take Santiago, where the recent modernized bus system was labeled and continues to be "disastrous." Simply put, the seemingly "chaotic" layout of Latin American cities is unfit for an organized bus system that does not take into account non-traditional bus stops and routes. In Santiago, thousands of residents have found themselves lost and tardy for their various appointments due to the heavy inconveniences caused by BRT transportation systems.

The underlying program with COHA is that it takes a seemingly elitist, condescending approach to Latin American issues and policies. This is unfortunately characteristic of many D.C.-based organisations; it would serve COHA well to consider the cultural implications of Northern, Western policies in a region that is immensely more diverse and complicated like Latin America. Regrettably, the "solve-all" approach taken by American NGOs and think-tanks (as well as European, and governmental organizations) has had disastrous consequences. Take Haiti or India, for example, where poverty has been unsuccessfully diminished due to the lack of cultural understanding with native peoples.

Also, cite your sources. If research were done, the obvious example of the Santiago transportation system would have been mentioned in your article.

Regards,
Pablo Fereiro
Português Aliança por um Brasil melhor
Brasilia.

]]> By: Frank Salomon http://www.coha.org/bus-rapid-transit-and-the-latin-american-city-successes-to-date-but-miles-to-go/comment-page-1/#comment-35180 Frank Salomon Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:53:20 +0000 http://www.coha.org/?p=7473#comment-35180 Great job, Banick! As a frequent visitor to Bogotá, Quito, and Lima I've been impressed with these new systems and especially with how they improve people's morale about being urbanites. Nice research, off the tediously beaten political track. COHA should offer more reports like this. Great job, Banick! As a frequent visitor to Bogotá, Quito, and Lima I've been impressed with these new systems and especially with how they improve people's morale about being urbanites. Nice research, off the tediously beaten political track. COHA should offer more reports like this.

]]> By: lsw http://www.coha.org/bus-rapid-transit-and-the-latin-american-city-successes-to-date-but-miles-to-go/comment-page-1/#comment-35185 lsw Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:29:33 +0000 http://www.coha.org/?p=7473#comment-35185 A very interesting article, but what about citing your sources? Larry, if you want to keep up COHA's reputation as a scholarly, academic research institution, you've got to start holding interns to normal academic standards - i.e. citing sources. A very interesting article, but what about citing your sources? Larry, if you want to keep up COHA's reputation as a scholarly, academic research institution, you've got to start holding interns to normal academic standards – i.e. citing sources.

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