The Pleasures of Shared Bike Lanes

Should bicyclists on this busy avenue in south-central Bogotá, near the Primero de Mayo, feel privileged? After all, this avenue has a special bike/bus lane, as well as 'bike boxes' for waiting safely at intersections.

But the reality doesn't match the theory. On the pavement, here's the cycling experience:

Lots of bicyclsts....

But lots of other vehicles in the exclusive bike/bus lane.

Strict exclusivity!

Can you spot the bicycle?

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Bogotá's Newest 'Bike Lane'?

Bicyclists in the new bus (and bike)-only lane on Carrera Septima.

A bicyclists shares the bike-bus lane
with a car and a motorcycle.

Bogotá once won fame as a global pioneer in building lanes for bicyclists.

During the past several city administrations, the city has lost that pioneering spirit. Mayor Petro, however, has expanded the bike lane network, trying to do so on the cheap and quick.

Petros's latest idea is a shared bike-bus lane on Carrera Septima, north of the Parque Nacional. The idea is potentially a good one. However, a visit this week during the afternoon rush hour found no sign of it being implemented, and cyclists on their own - as usual.

The bike-bus lane is part of a plan to turn Carrera Septima 'green', which also includes low-emission TransMilenio buses and green roofs on bus shelters. Unfortunately, the greening does not appear to include controlling pollution from traditional buses and other vehicles.

On the stretch of Carrera Septima from Plaza Bolivar to Calle 24, the city has banned cars and created a real bike lane. That has dramatically boosted the number of cyclists using the street. A real protected bicycle lane on the rest of Carrera Septima would do the same.

A car in the bus-only lane. I saw no sign of enforcement of the rule. 

A motorized bicycle in the bus-bike lane. These vehicles are proliferating in Bogotá and assume all the rights and privileges of real bicycles, even tho they pollute more than a car does.

How would you like to bicycle behind me? A 'green' bus belches smoke on La Septima. 

A motorcycle in the bus-bike lane.

A rare sight: A woman cyclist battles traffic, including this car in the bus lane. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Cyclist Suffers Toxic Attack!

A bicyclist gets smoke bombed by a bus on 26th Street. 

The other day, these bicyclists were pedaling along 26th St. when this bus belched this toxic cloud over one of them.

And some people ask why more Bogotanos don't ride bikes.

Other people ask why authorities don't sanction polluters. But why ask absurd questions?

Blog by Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Bikes and Buses - Can They Cohabit?

Good neighbors? A bicyclist squeezes past a bus on Carrera 10.

Bogotá transit planners' latest scheme to reorganize Bogotá's transit is to create exclusive lanes shared by buses and bicycles. It's actually a good idea in principle - particularly for the bus riders, who could be freed from the traffic jams generated by all those single-passengers cars.

Ave. Jimenez in La Candelaria is reserved for
buses, and many cyclists use the corridor.

But can bicyclists and buses co-exist? Would bus drivers respect cyclists? Would cyclists exasperate bus drivers by darting in front of them? Would bicyclists get blasted by buses' exhaust?

Most importantly of all, tho, would the plan work at all? I doubt it. Unless the city invests in TransMilenio-type concrete barriers separating these new bus lanes from the rest of the traffic, will car drivers respect them? Unfortunately, I doubt it.

Pedaling up Ave. Jimenez
with a bus behind.

This sounds like yet another fantasy plan from the Petro administration, which seems convinced that human nature is so benevolent and unselfish that a few billboards and pamphlets handed out in the street are all it takes to reform human nature.

On the other hand, in the one place where buses and bikes share an avenue free of cars - on Ave. Jimenez in La Candelaria, it works pretty well and is used by many cyclists.

Bogotá does need new ideas for bike lanes.

Build safe bike lanes and cyclists will come: A father and
son pedal along the new bike lane thru
the Centro Intrernacional. 

Many of the city's existing bike lanes are on sidewalks, forcing cyclists to dodge pedestrians, forklifts and delivery vehicles. Cars park on the lanes and businesses use them to store and display products.

But, where they feel safe and have their own space, cyclists will come, as the car-free stretch of Ave. Septima has demonstrated. Bogotá needs to invest in real, protected and continuous corridors for cyclists. That won't be easy, but it's a necessary step for promoting cycling here.

Many of Bogotá's existing bike lanes, like this one along Calle 13, are on sidewalks, forcing cyclists to compete with pedestrians. 

On the street, cyclists must prepare to swallow buses' diesel.

Make space for cyclists? A bicyclist amongst cars on Ave. Caracas.

Bicyclists navigate amidst traffic on Ave. Septima, which badly needs a bike lane. 

A tight squeeze: A bicyclist crosses an overpass amidst traffic.

Sharing space with buses means breathing their exhaust.

A mcyclist on a bike lane near the Universidad Nacional.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Bogotá's Traffic Chaos

What's this scene of commuters piling into a truck got to do with bicycling? Plenty!
Today, the city's commercial bus drivers went on strike. That's bad, because so many people depend on the buses here. But the drivers were striking against the city's policies designed to organize and clean up the city's dirty, chaotic and inefficient private buses.
That's fundamental for cyclists, because the city's chaos can make cycling dangerous and unpleasant, not to mention the damage from the pollution belched by buses like these below. Of course, many private vehicles also pollute unjustifiably, especially those new Chinese trucks. But, in Bogotá, buses still generate the lion's share of vehicle pollution, and until now many are obviously flouting the law - to the harm of all of us. The bus owners' strike shows that finally the city is really cracking down - or trying to.
In the end, the strike lasted four days, until the city agreed to give the bus companies a bigger slice of the income from the planned Integrated Transit System. With that system, some 8,000 older buses are supposed to be junked and replaced with 2,000 larger, cleaner and more-efficient buses. Let's all cross our fingers!

Ecoaire is a clean air organization created by, of all people, Ecopetrol, Colombia's state oil company.
This page is supposed to provide Bogotá's daily air quality, but I can't get it to work.
Here's my take on Bogotá transit on my other blog.
This blog is written by Mike Ceaser, of Bogota Bike Tours and Rentals