For weeks Mayor Augusto Barrera has been conferring with the National Police and other authorities to define a model of traffic control for Quito. The outcome is pico y placa. Pico refers to peak traffic hours and placa to license plate number. Excessive traffic congestion and the consequences of chaos and air and noise pollution have impelled the mayor to adopt this policy.
Restrictions will be rotative, based on the last digit of license plates, and enforced during peak traffic hours. For example, a license plate that ends in 1 might be prohibited from circulating on Mondays between 7-10 in the morning and 4-7:30 in the evening.
The Complexity of Quito’s Geography
As ex-mayor Roque Sevilla states, “…the geographical characteristics that make Quito beautiful are the same source of complex problems.”
Quito rests on a thin plateau, above 2,800 meters altitude, between Andean ridges and an active volcano. The city inhabits a cramped corridor with few prospects for expansion; over the years it has grown longer and thinner from north to south. High altitude makes engine combustion deficient due to a lack of oxygen in the atmosphere. Along with other problems including old and outdated buses and trucks that routinely circulate in the city, vehicle emissions have blackened Quito’s air.
Consumerism and Traffic Congestion in Quito
In an article published January 14, 2010, El Comercio reports that in Quito the average occupancy per automobile is 1.3 persons. An investigation showed that at a busy intersection, 80 out of 100 vehicles were transporting the driver only, resulting in long lines of 100 to 150 meters during peak hours.
These statistics indicate the growth in consumerism for automobiles. El Comercio further reports (in “La movilidad se caotizó en 10 años”) that between 2002 and 2008 the automobile fleet grew by 45.5%. 340,000 cars circulate daily in Quito out of a total fleet of 400,000, and this number is growing at an annual rate of 30,000 vehicles. Without a radical shift in policy, Quito is headed toward a collapse of its transportation network.
Vehicle Restrictions in Latin America
Quito would not be the sole city in Latin America to use vehicle bans as a means to abate congestion. Mexico City, Santiago de Chile, Bogotá, and São Paulo all have significant histories in the use of this policy with polemical results.
Anjali Mahendra’s research concludes that in Mexico City, for example, the policy pushed drivers to buy another car to circumvent the ban. These additional cars were usually older and cheaper and thus more polluting.
Pico y Placa in Bogotá
Bogotá, a city comparable in geography to Quito, initiated their pico y placa in 1998 to reduce congestion during peak hours. The plan also focused on public transport, and included the construction of its TransMilenio or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, that runs 9 main lines through the city along with a network of feeder buses that transport passengers to locations off the main lines. It also integrated bike paths and bicycle parking with the hope to shift users from private vehicles to public and greener transport.
Overall, the results have been positive. The TransMilenio website reports that it transports 70% of the population with only 23% using private vehicles to mobilize throughout the city.
With a total auto fleet of 1.4 million vehicles, however, mayor Samuel Moreno was impelled to do more. In 2009 he toughened vehicle restrictions and prohibited cars from circulating two days per week from 6:00am to 8:00pm. According to Santiago Zeas (in “En Bogotá la restricción es radical”), the policy has induced drivers to buy used cars, or even cheaper motorcycles that bypass the restrictions, or purchase falsified license plates. The city has experienced a boom in counterfeit license plates.
Public Transport in Quito
Roque Sevilla points out that only 30% of Quito’s population uses public transport, while the remaining 70% uses private automobiles. Public transport depends on the Metrobus-Q system, an integrated bus rapid transit system, running only 3 main lines: the Trolebus, Ecovia, and Metrobus, all north to south.
During peak hours these buses are overcrowded and routinely supervised by thieves. According to El Comercio (“La movilidad se caotizó en 10 años”), these three arteries transport 24% of public transport users. The rest is made up of buses organized in 95 cooperatives and companies, encouraging a public transport that is ill-coordinated, poorly regulated, and its drivers routine violators of traffic laws.
A Shift for the Future?
Pico y placa has roused many critics who believe the mayor has chosen an easy cosmetic solution, and not tackled the structural problems. Opponents list law enforcement and the sanctioning of violators, public works to improve circulation instead of patchwork projects, and a serious focus and spending on the pedestrian as priorities to change the nature of transport in Quito.
References
Sevilla, Roque (2008, May). “40 Soluciones para el tránsito en Quito.” [Electronic version] Roque Sevilla.
(2010, January 12). “La restricción vehicular solo se aplicará en el perímetro urbano.” [Electronic version] El Comercio.
(2010, January 14) “La tasa de ocupación es de 1,3 personas por auto en la ciudad.” [Electronic version] El Comercio.
“La movilidad se caotizó en 10 años.” [Electronic version] El Comercio.
Mahendra, Anjali (2008) 'Vehicle Restrictions in Four Latin American Cities: Is Congestion Pricing Possible?', Transport Reviews, 28: 1, 105 — 133.
Zeas, Santiago (2010, January 18) “En Bogotá la restricción es radical.” [Print Version] El Comercio.
Sandra Gross - Having lived in Ecuador for over 10 years, Sandra is familiar with change, charm, and contrast. From Pacific coastlines to the Amazon ...
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