First written on 15 May 2020, featuring insights from ICLEI South America Secretariat

The COVID-19 pandemic reached South America slightly later than Asia and Europe.  Most countries, with the notable exception of Brazil and Nicaragua, adopted national quarantine measures that restricted movement of people across regions and limited activities to essential ones. While lockdown measures helped to slow down the spread of the infection, most governments are battling with its economic and social consequences and are struggling with its enforcement. Nonetheless, numbers show that lockdown is saving lives. As of 13 May, Argentina has registered 6,879 cases, with 344 deaths, against 188,974 cases and over 13,149 deaths in Brazil.

ICLEI South America office shares observations in the regions, with a special focus in Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia, where staff members are stationed. 

Big cities as the epicenter of the infection

Not surprisingly, the outbreak tends to concentrate in large, densely populated cities. São Paulo, home to roughly 12 million inhabitants, has about 6 percent of Brazil’s population and 27 percent of the confirmed COVID-19 fatalities. Similarly, Bogota, home to 7.4 million people, has 15 percent of the population but about 35 percent of the confirmed cases as of early May. As of 8 May, about 86 percent of cases are concentrated in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, home to roughly 15.6 million people.

These numbers call for strong leadership in cities and regions. In Brazil, local and regional governments have set up more restrictive measures than the national government to curb the infection. Most South American cities and countries labeled the transport sector as an essential service, and they are working together with transport operators and their transport departments to deploy emergency plans and temporary measures quickly. Like elsewhere, South American cities and countries are balancing between the need to keep essential services and workers moving and the necessity to contain the health emergency.

It seems overall traffic has declined both from public and private transport in South Korea. For example, Seoul’s car traffic in March decreased by 7.2 percent, and the number of passengers in public transport went down by 34.5 percent compared to January.[5] In Busan City, the second-largest city in South Korea, the rate of public transport use decreased by half compared to the same period last year right after the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the city: Metro -58.3 percent, bus -50.4 percent, village bus -51 percent.[6]

Public transport challenges

In Argentina, new provisions on public transport were implemented on 17 March. The National Ministry of Transport ordered the suspension of domestic flights, and long-distance train and bus services. At the ports, only Argentine citizens or residents may enter the country. While public transport is mentioned as an essential service, it is recommended to prioritize the use of private modes of transport, such as car, motorcycle, bicycle or walking, over public transport. Overnight, usually crowded buses and trains of the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA) and Buenos Aires City (CABA) rolled out improved hygienic measures and facilitated physical distancing by allowing only seated passengers and back-door boarding.

These new measures, paired with the lockdown, led to reduced public transport patronage. Before the COVID-19, on a business day, approximately 4.2 million passengers traveled in public transport in the AMBA. With the quarantine, the number dropped dramatically, and no more than 700,000 passengers traveled on an average day. Preventive measures extend to passengers’ awareness campaigns and controls on service providers. Since 15 April, the use of protective masks became compulsory in public, including on the streets, and body temperature checks were introduced at the entrance to the main transport terminals of Buenos Aires. While shared mobility services are suspended, the subway in Buenos Aires operates in limited capacity serving only 50 stations. In the “new normal” of physical distancing, transport providers are expected to operate at 35 percent of capacity.

In March, the Brazilian National Urban Transportation Companies Association(ANATRIP) estimated a reduction between 30 to 50 percent of public transport passengers in cities due to the restrictive measures in affected areas, which could affect mobility for about 80 million low-income users. Cities like São Paulo have increased their bus fleets in some lines to prevent crowds and increase the frequency of their sanitization protocols for both stations and vehicles.

During the lockdown, South American cities and countries have adopted different strategies to control crowds and meet new demands. One such measure is the gender-based approach, where men and women could go out on an alternate day: men on odd days, women on even days. The initiative was heavily criticized and dropped in Peru, and even though it was implemented in Bogotá, it did not move forward. In Bogotà, the BRT system TransMilenio enabled 11 routes to connect health centers with the system and facilitate the movement of health professionals around the city.

Building back better, starting from cycling

Due to new norms of physical distancing, public transport will need support to meet mobility demand.
It is an opportunity to modernize and consolidate informal public transport, which often uses very old and polluting fleets. As an immediate response, South American cities are looking at testing pop-up cycling infrastructure and accelerating active mobility action plans, as a way to fill the gap and integrate public transport. According to the Peruvian observatory “Lima Cómo Vamos” 75 percent of trips rely on public transport and the 504 routes of the various private buses “combis” in Lima. In the scenario that the buses will have to operate in a reduced capacity, there will be a gap in demand. However, the city is already congested, and increasing the fleet is not a viable option. Thirty percent of trips are within seven kilometers, ideal for cycling. Thus Lima Metropolitan Area and the adjacent district of Callao are aiming to design 301 kilometers of bike lanes, starting from an ambitious goal of 142 kilometers in 45 days. This forward-looking plan will create a real bike network connecting the current 70 disconnected bike paths distributed among 14 different districts. In Bogotà, additional pop-up bike lanes have been tested in addition to the existing 550 kilometers, while Bueno Aires is considering providing financial support to purchase bikes.

Essential transport services in need of a recovery plan

During the outbreak the freight transport sector suffered along with the public transport sector.
Freight transport in South America is predominantly on wheels. In Brazil the demand for consolidated freight plummeted by 40 percent generating liquidity issues for 70 percent of the freight operators and 53 percent reported being able to sustain operations for a month, calling for immediate subsidies and fiscal incentives. Due to the disrupted supply chain, costs are also increasing, as most of the freight operators return empty, thus doubling their costs.
The transport sector, be it for people or for goods, requires a sound and sustainable recovery plan. In countries like Uruguay and Chile Solidarity and Emergency Funds have been created to help the informal sector and the most vulnerable. While these and similar initiatives will sustain daily wagers and smaller businesses, there is a need for a more comprehensive recovery plan in the medium and long term.

References:

1. https://www.argentina.gob.ar/sites/default/files/14-05-20_reporte-matutino-covid-19.pdf
2. https://www.saude.gov.br/noticias/agencia-saude/46882-coronavirus-188-974-casos-confirmados-e-78-424-recuperados
3. https://canaltrece.com.co/noticias/cuantos-casos-coronavirus-covid-19-colombia-bogota-hoy/
4. https://www.eltiempo.com/politica/coronavirus-la-confusion-por-la-diferencias-entre-duque-y-claudia-lopez-487656 and https://www.as-coa.org/articles/where-coronavirus-latin-america and https://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/coronavirus-argentina-anuncio-alberto-fernandez-nueva-fase-nid2363103
5. https://www.pagina12.com.ar/258942-los-numeros-que-muestran-la-drastica-reduccion-de-pasajeros-
6. https://www.ambito.com/informacion-general/transporte/cuarentena-como-funcionara-el-transporte-hoy-n5095228
7. http://www.sptrans.com.br/covid-19/info OR https://blogs.iadb.org/brasil/pt-br/painel-de-impacto-do-coronavirus-medindo-os-efeitos-do-distanciamento-social-sobre-a-mobilidade-no-brasil-e-regiao/
8. https://bogota.gov.co/mi-ciudad/salud/coronavirus/hay-pico-y-genero-en-bogota
9. https://especiales.elcomercio.pe/?q=especiales/pedalear-contra-la-pandemia-ecpm/index.html
10.https://www.caf.com/es/conocimiento/visiones/2020/04/las-dos-grandes-oportunidades-del-coronavirus-para-la-movilidad-urbana-de-america-latina/
11.https://blogs.iadb.org/transporte/es/covid-19-transporte-de-carga-en-terapia-intensiva/

Additional readings:
Argentina: Las 10 medidas en transporte ante la emergencia sanitaria por COVID – 19 (9 May 2020)