PTA talks for strong public transport governance in Latin America

The COVID-19 crisis demonstrated that urban public transport is essential in providing for our essential mobility needs. It also set the scene for cities to prioritise accessible, safe, breathable, and walkable streets through urban planning.

As the conversation around this garners more strength, policymakers have a golden opportunity to ensure the liveability of cities. But stakeholders will have to support these projects right from the start.

With this mission, on 22 February 2022, more than 45 Transport Authorities from Latin America, Spain and Portugal, as well as representatives from cities, met for the second edition of the ‘LATAM PTA Talks’. In Spanish, Portuguese and English, they discussed cutting edge topics related to sustainable mobility and governance.

By organising this meeting, UITP aims to:

• Identify topics of greatest interest for the public transport authorities in Latin America;
• Share challenges, strategies and projects;
• Leverage UITP’s global platform and gather best practices from across the globe;
• Work together in communicating to relevant organisations like governments that public transport and urban mobility are crucial investments;
• Use best practices to illustrate UITP recommendations on mobility governance.

In a survey circulated before the meeting, funding and financing of public transport infrastructure and services ranked as the most important topic. Based on answers from 8 different countries other priority topics such as urban mobility plans, service quality and digitalisation, pave the way for future PTA Talks.

A panel of CEOs and Secretaries of Mobility shared some of the recent developments:

• Luis Miguel Martínez, from CRTM Madrid (Spain), presented the last innovations in terms of integrated demand management based on digital tools and data coming from different sources (g. ticketing and smartphones);
• Susana Morales, from Bogota (Colombia), presented the city’s green mobility strategy, where urban space is given back to people, following the tactical measures taken during COVID;
• Fernando de Caires, from EMDEC Campinas (Brazil), presented their ambitious strategic plans, including administrative cooperation among different government levels and stakeholders;
• Finally, Manuela López, from Buenos Aires (Argentina), presented an ambitious approach to continue their bet on active mobility and public transport.

The fastest and most cost-effective way to decarbonise people’s daily mobility and reduce the footprint of their journeys is to promote public transport, walking and cycling.

Amongst the conclusions, it was clear that strengthening public transport should be a priority for decision-makers in all cities and countries. Meanwhile, agile regulatory frameworks and financial incentives are key to deliver the quality metropolitan transport systems that citizens clearly desire.

All in all, public transport authorities in Latin America are on the right path to make public transport systems more resilient, sustainable and people oriented.

We want to thank the other speakers, like Tom Page, Transport for London, Chair of UITP Organising Authorities Committee, Joan Bigas from Barcelona and Sara Gärtner from Gothenburg, both Vice-Chairs, and Rafael Fernández, from Instituto de Movilidad y Desarrollo Urbano Territorial de Yucatán, for sharing their expertise and debating key current governance challenges of today and tomorrow.

We are looking forward to continuing the debate during the next LATAM PTA Talks, planned for 13 April. Don’t miss it!