Carlos Pardo: From Bikes to BRT and Beyond

This month on Transit Voices we go beyond the headlines with Carlos Felipe Pardo from Colombia, a champion cyclist who then became a mobility and urban transport policy adviser for organizations such as the UN and the World Bank.

 

In the conversation with Masabi co-founder Ben Whitaker, Carlos explains why car schemes always seem to get the investment instead of public transit. “Many times, we see the large investments in roads, because they’re incredibly expensive, and that is pretty clear to people in transportation” he says. “But then people who have the voice in the media, and in policy, and even in Congress, they are people who are either riding a car all day or most of the time, or would like to.”

 

We also get the real story behind some of the projects like Bogota’s BRT bike parks, former Bogota Mayor Enrique Peñalosa’s quotation on real developed cities having the bankers on the bus, and a few of the really gnarly problems about safety, getting people on to public transport in more dangerous areas. Carlos gives an interesting insight to the issue in Bogata: “BRT is the safest way to move in Bogota, in terms of road safety,” says.  “The worst way to travel in Bogota is walking, sadly, going by motorbike, then riding a bicycle. So public transport is incredibly safe in terms of road safety, [but] getting to the buses, not so safe.”

 

You’ll also hear about why road tunnels are a boondoggle in urban transportation, and why Carlos thinks cargo bikes are a big underdog in cities.