COLOMBIA: Support for the structuring of the Regional Transport Authority for Cali and its metropolitan area (Cauca Valley Government) 2019 – 2020

The city of Cali and its metropolitan area have a population of over 3.3 million, and economic development is concentrated in Cali, where there are the most jobs and opportunities.

As a result, there is increasing use of cars and motorbikes, competition between municipal and intermunicipal public transport and informal transport, connectivity problems between rural and urban areas, high levels of congestion, and a lack of physical, operational and pricing integration of the system on a metropolitan scale.

In order to meet the mobility needs of local residents, the authorities are developing strategic projects: the regional train (supported by French cooperation) and “Corredor Verde”, a regional pilot project that prioritises green spaces and active modes of transport along the train route.

Against this backdrop, the government of the Cauca Valley and the region’s municipalities are aware of the need to organise, regulate and plan transport through the creation of a Regional Transport Authority (ART). In 2018 they therefore requested technical and financial support from AFD to structure this new authority. This support includes technical assistance organized by CODATU and a study on structuring the ART carried out by the Franco-Colombian consortium Suez-DVDH-GSD+.

The aim of the technical cooperation led by CODATU was to build the capacity of local players in terms of the institutional organisation of urban transport:

-The organisation of thematic workshops with the participation of French and Colombian experts on the legal, organisational, financial and technical issues (intermodality, pricing, etc.) of a mobility organising authority.

-Support for the drafting of terms of reference for additional studies (including that for the implementation of the Integrated Regional Transport System).

Codatu Team