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Viewing cable 06BOGOTA4055, TWO DAY TRANSIT STRIKE PARALYZES BOGOTA

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06BOGOTA4055 2006-05-05 23:20 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Bogota
VZCZCXYZ0091
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #4055/01 1252320
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 052320Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4784
INFO RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 7653
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ MAY LIMA 3706
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 4343
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 3542
UNCLAS BOGOTA 004055 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ETRD ELAB CO
SUBJECT: TWO DAY TRANSIT STRIKE PARALYZES BOGOTA 
 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1. (U) On May 2-3, associations representing Bogota,s 
private bus owners launched a surprise strike, effectively 
grounding approximately 95 percent of the city's private 
buses and stranding over 4 million residents.  The striking 
owners demanded changes to the transition regime involving 
the city,s Transmilenio mass transit system.  Some violence 
was associated with the strike, mainly against taxis and the 
few private buses that remained in operation, and massive 
traffic jams prompted the closing of public schools and many 
businesses.  The strike was lifted after Bogota mayor Eduardo 
Garzon, yielding to political pressure from President Uribe, 
agreed to hold future talks with the trade associations.  End 
Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
FULL SCALE BUS STRIKE SURPRISES CAPITAL 
--------------------------------------- 
 
2. (U) The Bogota transit strike began in the early morning 
of May 2 and involved virtually all of the city's 25,000 
private buses and microbuses, but not the Transmilenio rapid 
transit system.  The Association of Small Private Bus Owners 
(APETRANS) organized the strike, but did not provide prior 
notification to municipal authorities.  The larger trade 
associations representing a majority of private bus operators 
immediately supported the strike.  (Note: The Transmilenio 
bus line is a rapid transit system of articulated buses 
serving main arteries in Bogota via dedicated highway lanes 
for exclusive use of Transmilenio buses.) 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
BUS OWNERS DEMAND THAT MAYOR REVISE MASS TRANSIT POLICY 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
3. (U) According to APETRANS, the grievances behind the 
strike were in reaction to Mayor Garzon's decisions to remove 
buses over 20 years old from circulation, enact an 
environmental regulation restricting the use of buses over 10 
years old using diesel fuel, and eliminate over 150 routes 
for approximately 1,250 private buses in favor of new 
Transmilenio routes.  The Mayor's Office asserted the strike 
was over compensation for bus owners to take obsolete buses 
out of circulation.  City Hall pays up to USD 11,000 for each 
bus, but the bus owners have demanded no less than 15,000 
USD.  The Mayor's office added that bus owners had also been 
cheating the city for years by manipulating the quota system 
intended to limit the number of buses in circulation.  They 
are also accused of buying substandard buses to force the 
city to repurchase them at USD 11,000 - 15,000. 
 
--------------------- 
EFFECTS OF THE STRIKE 
--------------------- 
 
4. (U) The unannounced strike caused havoc in the capital, 
including some small scale violence and large traffic jams 
that prompted the closing of most schools and some business. 
While taxis and privately owned cargo vehicles (such as 
pickups and stepvans) provided alternative means of 
transportation for some Bogota residents, many others were 
forced to walk, ride bicycles, or not report to work at all. 
Passengers waited hours in Transmilenio lines that snaked 
around entire blocks.  Press reported the estimated economic 
impact of the strike to be over USD 5 million during the 
strike's 36 hours.  However, according to city,s 
environmental office, the absence of 25,000 buses from 
Bogota,s roadways resulted in reducing air polution by 28 
percent. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
PRESIDENT, TRANSPORTATION MINISTER INTERVENE, BUSES RETURN 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
5. (U) In the afternoon of May 3, the four major trade 
associations representing large private bus companies broke 
ranks with APETRANS and agreed to lift the strike after a 
meeting with the Minister of Transportation.  According to 
press reports, President Uribe pressured Mayor Garzon to hold 
talks with the bus owners.  APETRANS, the association 
representing small-scale bus owners and the original 
organizer behind the strike, quickly denounced the decision 
of the larger operators to lift the strike as "traitorous." 
 
6. (U) With the strike lifted, the Mayor agreed to hold 
further talks and workshops, beginning May 16, to address the 
concerns of the bus owners.  While the Mayor is reluctant to 
give into their demands, the owner associations reserved the 
right to resume the strike if their needs are not met.  The 
Mayor has said, "Either I govern or get governed." 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
DRIVERS' UNIONS BACK OWNERS, CALL STRIKE "POORLY ORGANIZED" 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
7. (U) In the morning of May 3, the president of the National 
Driver's Union (SINDINALCH), which represents approximately 
4,000 private bus drivers, accurately predicted that the 
strike would end by the next day.  He explained that there 
was no strike fund and the drivers were unable to financially 
subsist without returning to work.  He blamed APETRANS for 
"poorly organizing" the strike and not providing sufficient 
notification to any of the 15 unions representing bus 
drivers, although all the unions were supporting the strike. 
He said the strike would not achieve its objectives, but 
said, "At least people now know the Transmilenio isn't 
capable of handling all commuters."  In spite of the fact 
that many of their members are bus riders, two of the three 
principal trade confederations, the General Confederation of 
Work (CGT) and the Confederation of Colombian Workers (CTC) 
supported the strike.  The CGT and CTC represent 120,000 and 
55,000 workers respectively.  The United Confederation of 
Workers (CUT), Colombia's largest trade confederation with 
550,000 workers, was divided in its position.  On May 2, its 
president released an announcement calling for dialogue 
between City Hall and the bus owners, while supporting the 
efforts of Mayor Garzon, himself a former CUT president, in 
modernizing the Bogota transit system.  The following day, 
the far left wing of the CUT leadership released a statement 
unconditionally supporting the strike. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
8. (U) The overwhelming success of the Trasmilineno system in 
reducing traffic and pollution in Bogota affords Mayor Garzon 
considerable public support in managing the private bus 
transition regime.  While most Bogotanos appreciate the 
concerns of private bus owners and drivers, the efficient 
mass transit genie has been let out of the bottle and the 
days of the old chaotic bus system are numbered.  Bogotanos 
do not want to see another bus strike, however, and will look 
to Mayor Garzon to find some sort of solution that will keep 
the buses running and the transition to the Transmilenio on 
schedule.  End Comment. 
WOOD