Due to protests by motorcyclists, Bogotá suffered a day of chaos in mobility

The announced stoppage of motorcyclists — opposed to the barbeque restriction ordered by the Mayor's Office, whose implementation it holds firm for the next few days — caused a collapse in the mobility of the public transport system and private vehicles in the capital of the Republic.

The protest, called by the group Moteros CO, consisted of occasional blockades in arteries and peaceful demonstrations in different parts of the city, starting on the afternoon of Monday, April 4.

Affections in TransMilenio, as well as stalls on Avenida 68 on both sides of the road, were the predominant note of the day in which, again, long lines of users left the articulated ones to return to their homes on foot.

Only until 10:38 p.m., the capital's Mobility Secretariat reported the reopening of the Americas portal — to the west of the city — as well as other nerve points, such as the Transversal 86 and Patio Bonito stations, located southeast of Bogotá.

Previously, the stations of Pradera, Marseille, Avenida de las Americas with Avenida Boyacá and Mandalay were reopened. After 9:00 p.m. food services were enabled in Banderas.

At the time of writing of this note, protests had subsided at the rally points on the NQS with calle 60.

District continues to be firm with the restriction to the barbeque man

Although Mayor Claudia López announced a press conference for Tuesday, the mayor's office insisted that the motorcycle barbecue restriction in Bogotá on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from 7 pm to 4 am, remains in place despite protests.

The measure as such will start next Thursday between 7:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m.; the user associations consider that this measure violates their right to mobility.

The Mayor's Office called on citizens to “all collaborate and contribute to our own security”, bearing in mind that the days of the restriction are those with the highest crime rates. “In the evenings and early hours of Thursday to Saturday, there were 27% of homicides with motorcycle hit men and 32% of robberies,” said the district.

It should be recalled that this measure arose in the first place because of the two recent attacks that the capital has suffered in the town of Ciudad Bolivar. According to Mayor Claudia López, the restrictions are implemented with the aim of mitigating these risks, since both events “occurred just on Saturday night.”

The Lopez administration highlighted the efforts being made by other sectors of the public: businesses with public service until 5:00 a.m. are being linked to local security fronts to prevent quarrels and protect their customers, and parks, squares and public spaces will be closed at 10:00 p.m. to any group activity and liquor consumption.

“Motorcycles, which circulate freely, without pickaxes and plates, that do not pay tolls and have less taxes, are being asked to join these efforts,” the district said, noting what are the two minimum actions to contribute: to carry public and visible identification, and that they do not have a barbecue for only three days at night . He also recalled that the new measures “are characterized by being partial and temporary”, since they will go until June 2022.

In Context | The Measures Are Partial and Temporary: Bogotá Mayor's Office Facing Restrictions on Motorcyclists - Infobae

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