"The main and overarching issue is that political will is needed to prioritize transit"

As populations in Latin American cities rise, finding sustainable urban mobility solutions is becoming more important in the region and throughout the world.

One of the first steps in resolving the issue is mapping out the access that city dwellers have to public transit systems, a meticulous task recently carried out by the New York-based non-profit Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP).

During a meeting with the institute, CEO Clayton Lane told BNamericas about ITDP's most recent study on the matter, touching on topics such as the influence of land use management and government policy when it comes to creating fast and efficient transit systems. 

BNamericas: Could you give our readers a brief explanation of what the study was about?

Lane: The report measures the number of urban residents who are within a short walking distance [1 km] to rapid transit with a new metric, People Near Rapid Transit [PNT], and applies the metric to 26 major cities and their greater metro regions around the world.

This shows that, at best, cities are serving half their metro area populations and in most cases, much less. In Latin America, the two worst ranked cities are Brasília and São Paulo with a PNT score of 17% and 25%, respectively. Doing better on the list was Buenos Aires with a 65% score, followed by Rio de Janeiro and Mexico City, both with 47%.

Fundamentally, though, the study is about land use and equity, and the need for more transit-oriented development. As cities around the world grow, transit should follow.

BNamericas: Where did you acquire the data for your study?

Lane: Many different resources. There isn't any one resource that holds this data, which is part of why we wanted to do the study.

Among them is the US Census Bureau, Mexico's national institute of statistics, Brazil's institute of geography and statistics [IBGE], Argentina's Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos, the UK's Office for National Statistics, Spain's national statistics institute, France's national institute of statistics and economic studies, and others.

 

BNamericas: What types of legislative and public policy decisions can affect the quality of public transit?

Lane:  Practically any urban or transport policy can affect the quality, depending on the context. The main and overarching issue is that political will is needed to prioritize transit.

Keep in mind that making good quality transit sometimes requires making unpopular political decisions such as removing or regulating parking and dedicating lanes for transit or, in other words, taking road space away from cars.

The accomplishment of projects also requires political partnerships and a consistent flow of funding no matter what party is in power. This is particularly important when it comes to operations.

A transport system can be funded, built and designed well, but once it opens, you need a consistent plan to maintain funds for operations. You will never be able to charge enough in fares, even in wealthier countries, to completely cover operations.

BNamericas: Could you explain how land use management plays a role in urban mobility planning?

Lane: Simply put, for urban mobility to work best for everyone, land use planning must be aligned with transit. The US model of car-oriented suburban planning is the worst for mobility as it basically requires everyone to have a car.

This is a particularly important issue to pay attention to. Although developing cities are adopting this model, we are seeing that a reversal of the original plan is starting to occur. The wealthy are moving into cities and the poor are being pushed to suburbs and outer areas which are not as well served by transit and this is a major equity issue.

BNamericas: What is the most effective way to deal with this?

Lane: Most importantly, we need housing, shopping, and business districts to be densified. For transit that is accessible and rapid, we need to use walking for short distances, cycling for medium distances, and public transit for longer trips.

Of course, the car is still necessary, but it should be primarily used for getting between cities or getting out of the city you are in.