Bus Lane Ruins 9 De Julio

[syngirl]

I never got the 9 de julio thing anyway, its basically a motorway through the centre of the city that is a bitch to cross.

There should be more bus lanes through the whole city to make it quicker to get through.

Can't wait til 2015 when this is what the subway system is supposed to look like.

Buenos Aires Minister of Finance Néstor Grindetti has signed a 15-year loan agreement with China for US$1·4bn to fund metro Line G. Construction of the 12·5 km line with 15 stations between Retiro and El Cid Campeador by Chinese contractors is due to start in 2012.
http://www.railwayga...n-brief-12.html

I wonder how far along they are.

Wahahahaha the subte is in no way going to look like that. Well actually potentially it could since the Linea B to Urquiza (which extends beyond Rosas 2 more stations) has been completed since 2010. However all of the stations beyond los incas are boarded up -- why? Because there are no more trains to put on the line, so if they add in an additional 6 stops on the line they just won't have enough trains to carry people.

So, yes, maybe the map will look like that, just more than half the new stations won't even be functioning!

 

[RSPlayer]

I have been driving nearly the entire length (from autopista Illia to Ave. Belgrano) of 9 de Julio at least twice a day for several years. So my comment's are from a car commuters viewpoint. It remains to be seen whether or not the new MetroBus will improve the flow of traffic, however, I have some faith that it will. I did NOT have this faith when they started the work. The last several months have been very frustrating, many times taking more than one hour to go from the corner of Ave. Belgrano to the entrance of the autopista Illia. Having said that, I have been extremely impressed and surprised with the speed that the Project has been completed (almost completed). A few weeks ago, when it became apparent that you would not be able to turn left anywhere on 9 de Julio, I thought, not again, this crazy system of no left turns from avenues, but then quickly realized what I believe is the "plan"; take all the buses from the 2 side streets, (Pellegrini and Cerrito) and put them in the new lanes in the center, have the "local" car traffic that needs to make turns and stops use Cerrito and Pellegrini (that now have no bus traffic), and leave the lanes of 9 de Julio for car traffic that needs to go from one end to the other. As I said, I think this is the theory, it seems to be working, however anything is an improvement over a 1.5 hour trip to go 3km on 9 de Julio. Of course the real question is will it be an improvement from one year ago, before they started constrution. Regarding the aesthetics, of course the asphalt and bus stops will not look as good as the trees that used to be there, however, it does seem that an effort has been made to improve traffic flow and make it look "pretty".

 

[nlaruccia]

Again, the government is putting a bandaid on an amputation. It thinks the people are easily tricked. Making us think a few extra Chinese subways and a new bus path on 9 de Julio will solve the city's problems.

Every year more and more cars are sold as people use them as an investment and a place to stash black market money. There are no places to park and no huge parking buildings being constructed to house all these cars because it's not profitable enough to peak the government's interest. At least with parking lots built those that come from far to work in the city could leave their car parked all day and use the subway or bus to get around.

There's no easy solution to this problem and the as usual, they wait until the problem gets out of hand before "reacting", rather than trying to prevent the problem in the first place by "prevention", "foresight" and "planning".

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

Trams!

1. The most expansive network in the city is the bus network, attempting to link a one route tram to a completely underused tram is baffling short sighted. Linking the 9 de Julio corridor to the bus network makes sense as it leverages existing bus routes and makes improvements to existing routes as well as encouraging new commuters to use them.

2. Price - this should be a complete no brainer. Really, the scalability of a bus lane in terms of a bus extension and/or addition of new business to augment capacity is many time more economically than the scalability of trams.

3. Flexibility - Accident on the tram line? System shutdown until it is cleared. On the bus lane, divert into traffic carry on with some delays.

4. Power source - I don't know if it escaped your attention, but edenor and edesur are in a chronic state. Would you like to rely on them for another main transit artery? I'll take a sturdy deisel engine thanks all the same. Adding demand to a creaking capacity is not a good solution.

5. Trees - In my view fair effort is being made to replace the trees, the main environment unpleasantness on 9 de Julio is car traffic and the exhaust output. Quite evidently this is what needs to be reduced by incentivising public transport use.

To the weary car driver, I feel your pain. My OH has a company car, I come in to work with her as we get to spend another half hour together in the car in the morning (awww, aint we sweet), Av Sante Fe is a wretch in the morning. The reality is that more of the transport solutions are required because the bus car mix is not working. The transport system is creaking, the subte is bursting at the seams at peak hours and the traffic is prohibitive. We need quick to implement solutions which are cost effective and work now.

Isolated bus lanes are the sensible choice if arterys can be found leading in and out of the city. For me it one of the few visible signs of progressive attempts to combat the public transport problems that exist.

On civility, when you open up your thread as agressively as you have Sergio, you will find people respond agressively.

Keep on truckin.

 

[Page8383]

I believe that BA has an over-reliance on buses / colectivos as a mass transit system. For a city this size, people need to be moved underground and off the streets, where the buses are just going to continue to clog up the streets more and more into the future.

I understand that the city has a very strong 'bus culture' and it is not like Asia or some big European cities where the metro / subway / tube is the real lifeblood of the city. It is also much easier said than done to say "make the subte bigger and better", but I thought the metro bus plan for 9 de Julio was always a short sighted band aid solution. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen.

However, as one previous poster pointed out, the subte needs more trains as well as stations. I think BA lacks vision in this respect. The 2015 upgrade is a lovely idea but looks like pie in the sky stuff and I believe is only a fraction of the upgrade that is required. Getting the money and the expertise to do this is a serious job for a serious administration.
There are 13 million people to move around BA and doing it in buses that stop every 2 blocks is an idea that seriously needs to be challenged in this town.

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

Again, the government is putting a bandaid on an amputation. It thinks the people are easily tricked. Making us think a few extra Chinese subways and a new bus path on 9 de Julio will solve the city's problems.

Every year more and more cars are sold as people use them as an investment and a place to stash black market money. There are no places to park and no huge parking buildings being constructed to house all these cars because it's not profitable enough to peak the government's interest. At least with parking lots built those that come from far to work in the city could leave their car parked all day and use the subway or bus to get around.

There's no easy solution to this problem and the as usual, they wait until the problem gets out of hand before "reacting", rather than trying to prevent the problem in the first place by "prevention", "foresight" and "planning".

True, but it is what it is right now. You can't magic the cars off the road overnight and you cannot implement a tram line in less than a few years and less than 10 for new subway lines.

We do need quick and cheap to implement solutions, we need a paradigm shift in the attitude of commuters. We desparately need to remove cars from the clogged routes, I believe the congestion is the main reason for the high accident statistics in the city. Every is so desperate to beast the traffic they drive like lunatics or fight aggressively with the traffic.

Congestion = accidents. The correct thing to do is to implement solutions where we can.

 

[robwerwe]

The 2015 map is the bare minimum the city needs. World class cities are investing in lots of other types of transport too.
And when will they finish Linea H?

Also why are they building Linea H before F? Why can't they just swap the names around.

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

In reality a massive subway investment is required, but the money isn't there. Who will make that investment, the city of BA? Where would they get the money from?

These investments can only happen if you can access credit on the international markets to make them happen. Since that option doesn't exist, the only real option is cheaper solution like bus lane improvements. Any large scale infrastructure project is backed by funds raised by bonds and/or PPI initiatives. Which of course people complain about and tell us how bad they are, yet still they want shiny new trains and lower taxes.

The money has to come from the market you hate so much Argentina!

 

[nlaruccia]

I've been told by a few engineers and maybe they're wrong, but they once mentioned to me that more subways can't be built because the river is so close to the city and they can't dig to deep below the city. Maybe that's just an urban myth.

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

I've been told by a few engineers and maybe they're wrong, but they once mentioned to me that more subways can't be built because the river is so close to the city and they can't dig to deep below the city. Maybe that's just an urban myth.

Sounds plausible. I'd say the lack of funds would hinder it even more.

Does anyone know if the company that extended the B line are local or international? If international did they take payment in pesos?