Chile - Sustainable Transport and Air Quality for Santigo (GEF) Project

The Sustainable Transport, and Air quality for Santigo aims to help reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) from ground transport in Santiago through the promotion of a long-term modal shift to more efficient and less polluting forms of transport, and the adoption of sustainable low-GHG transport measures. The project has the following four components. Component 1) will includes the implementation of a three-year program of promotional actions, with the overall objective of increasing bicycle use in the three Comunas. Component 2) will provide technical assistance for evaluating the economic and environmental impact of clean technologies for buses. The tests will be developed using a state of the art emissions laboratory for heavy duty vehicles located at the 3 CV facilities. The business structure of bus services in Santiago has resulted in a costly and environmentally unsustainable surface public transport system. Key issues include: (a) lack of an organizational model that would facilitate efficient public transport operation, (b) dispersed operations that hinder the effective control of bus services and contribute to traffic congestion, (c) lack of professional management among bus operators, and (d) an unattractive image which induces potential bus passengers to use private vehicles instead. The implementation of the bus routes, and more specifically of the trunk routes on segregated busways is expected to allow the road-based public transport system to run more efficiently with a reduced number of buses. Component 3) current tools for policy making rely on the use of transport models inter-phased with an emission model assessing emission changes due to changes in direct transport measures. 4) Developing the Central Ring of Santiago (Anillo Central). It was decided in agreement with the "Mesa de Trabajo Ciudad y Territorio" that the GEF support would focus its intervention through an analysis of the consistency and compatibility of the various sector policies that affect land-use and transport. reduce motor vehicle use within Santiago's city center. This will be done trough the implementation of measures such as traffic calming, pedestrian facilities implementation, and parking restrictions in the area of the Triangulo Central de Santiago. Various studies or a multi-pronged study will be necessary before defining a technically sound politically viable scheme. CONAMA is preparing a project of law to establish a legal and comprehensive ground for the so-called Decontamination Bonds. These are economic instruments designed to place a cap on emissions to the Metropolitan Area of Santiago.