Power of Sun Helps Poorest Get Up and Downhill

A new solar-powered gondola in Bogota is not only eco-friendly and leaves no carbon footprint – it also gives the poorest a lift.

The „TransMi“ cable car system in Bogota, Columbia, transports about 20,000 residents per day. Up and down the hill in 15 minutes, and for less than 1.- US$ per journey. The 3,5 km “TransMiCable’ is not only helping to cut air pollution and traffic jams in Colombia’s capital of about 8 million habitants: The clean-energy project also makes life easier for the poorest: the residents of the southern neighborhood of Ciudad Bolivar.

Until recently, Ciudad Bolivar residents had to commute up to two hours and take three different busses to and from work. Bogota’s first cable car service now connects the community with the rest of the city and its bus network.

“The TransMiCable project not only saves energy but also conveys an environmentally sustainable message to citizens,” said Kristian Rada, head of the Latin America cities program at the World

Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), which plans to help fund the cable car. As Reuters reports, the gondola has helped to install a sense of pride among locals in an area formerly only known for its crime and violence.