This paper presentation is a part of GLD's Work-in-Progress Workshop, 2025 Spring Series.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Latin American bus sector experienced widespread deregulation and privatization, leading it to operate in an atomized, unsubsidized, quasi-informal and un-systemic way. This situation began to change between the late 1990s and 2000s, when many of these services underwent structural reforms. The modernization wave of public transportation made the region a pioneer in the adoption of some innovative modes of transportation such as Bus Rapid Transits (BRTs) and cable cars. Bogotá (Colombia) and Santiago (Chile) became leading reference cities for the reorganization of their bus public transit systems. Optimistically, these innovative reforms might have led to efficient, inclusive and sustainable public transportation services across the region. However, bus public transport ridership is decreasing, while the region has experienced an increase in the use of private vehicles and popular transport. This paper studies why this is the case, focusing mainly on the cases of Bogotá and Santiago.
Leveraging stakeholder interviews, official and non-official document analysis, and descriptive statistical analysis with secondary data, I hypothesize (still in-progress research) that guidelines of international donors, which have historically favored road infrastructure for private vehicles over any other type of mobility, have promoted one-size-fits-all public transportation policies in closed and top-down processes. Moreover, weak transportation governance is reinforced through the pressure of international donors and transnational activist coalitions on Latin American governments to adopt formally ambitious institutions, with little attention to real-world effects and local characteristics. Lastly, a declining middle class can also play a role in explaining ridership decline.
The GLD Work-in-Progress Workshop is designed to help scholars with ongoing papers or projects by providing feedback, suggestions, and advice during a one-hour-long workshop. And all participants are, of course, encouraged to attend several workshops to reciprocate the helpful feedback.
