Piloting Electromobility in the Integrated Transport System of the Aburra Valley (Medellin, Colombia)

Project Summary:

The objective of this grant is to support the pilot service of BRT Line 1 and 2 electric buses in the Integrated Transport System of the Aubrra Valley (SITVA), including recommendations for creating a new bus operator for the corridor of Colombia. Urban transport highly impacts the entire transport sector—the mobility of people and goods accounts for approximately 23 percent of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, and 15 percent of global GHG emissions. The long-term partnership between the World Bank and the Government of Colombia will support a radical change towards decreased emissions and fossil fuel use in the sector. This partnership has helped Colombia, and particularly SITVA, lead the way in urban transport and become internationally known for innovation. This KGGTF grant supports the program in its use of mainstream green growth strategies and desire to influence government expenditure and investments in future infrastructure. This grant will also support the systematic use of technical and operational know-how.  

List of Activities:

1. Implementation of an electric bus pilot corridor and identification of most adequate electric bus corridors based on technology and operational conditions

• Support the client in designing and applying criteria to confirm or identify corridors for pilots
• Assessment of the available technology and operational conditions under which the pilot should be implemented
• Support to the design and implementation of procurement process
• Design of testing program to closely monitor and report key performance operating indicators

2. Support Metrobus restructure as public operator and capacity building – Institutional restructure, capacity building and Knowledge Exchange and dissemination
3. Evaluation of barriers and linkages with the Electricity Sector Regulation

• Evaluation of power sector barriers linked to the access to the grid of Electric Vehicles
• Analysis of the regulatory framework related to distribution companies
• Defined role of power distribution companies and their influence on new charging stations and transport concessions business models.

Outcomes:

Output 1:

• Recommendation report
• Informed bidding documents and procurement process 

Output 2:

• Institutional restructuring recommendations report
• Capacity building strategy report 
• Participation and dissemination in workshops and conferences

Output 3:

• Report on barriers and implications for power sector
• Workshop on experiences from other countries, including Korea

Outcomes:

• Improved efficiency: The activity will generate knowledge and allow to advance on the learning curve to implement electric buses in an integrated system. Electric buses allow for efficiencies in fuel consumption and maintenance costs. In addition, the institutional support will prevent inefficiencies in the system management by preventing capacity gaps and improper coordination mechanisms 
• Greater resilience: A hierarchically integrated multimodal transport system is more accessible and responsive to user demands, the overall resilience of the transport network will maintain.  
• Increased competitiveness: The Korean experience exemplified how a strong focus on public transport improvement can bring about fiscal and environmental gains. After the reform, the total combined deficit for bus, metro, and rail decreased, as well as the social costs of transportation. In 2005, Seoul’s government reported a gain of nearly $2.4 billion in social benefits through reductions in travel time ($2.0 billion), driving costs ($0.3 billion), accidents ($47 million), and air pollution ($41 million). This activity will target, not only efficiency and promotion of clean buses, but also ensuring appropriate system management and sustainability through ensuring institutional capacity for implementation. Hence, enabling benefits associated to public transport to materialize.

Collaboration with K-Partners and Others:

• Green Technology Center-Korea (GTC-K)
• Korea Transport Institute (KOTI)
• World Resources Institute (WRI
• International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT)
• C40 cities initiative (of Medellin is part)
• Sustainable Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT)