The study began in 2015, with a group of researchers from the Universidad de los Andes; they questioned the exposure people were subjected to due to air pollution in Bogotá. To this end, they analyzed citizens and their mobility in each mode of transport (public buses, bicycles, TransMilenio, among others).
This ended with a publication in the academic journal, Environmental Science & Technology. The study found the impact that the change of TransMilenio buses had on the capital's environment; this depends on the vehicles whose fuel is gas. Starting in 2019, the 'renewal' of the articulated system bus fleet began, which ended by September 2020.
Ricardo Morales Betancourt, professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Universidad de los Andes explained: “With the study, in which we compared exposure to air pollutants according to modes of transport, we obtained a red flag: pollution in Transmilenio was higher than in any other medium, due to what we decided to focus more on that system.”
This article shows how the change from more than 1,100 buses running on diesel, which had been operating since 2000, to buses fueled by natural gas, reduced user exposure to soot by 80% and also saw a 78% decrease in fine particulate matter, figures taken between 2015 and 2017 compared to presented in 2020.
According to the Council for the Defense of Natural Resources, NRDC, black carbon is a threat to both public health and climate.
According to the study by the Universidad de los Andes, TransMilenio trips exceeded the maximum dose of black carbon and particulate matter that a human being can withstand. Both the passengers of the buses and the passers-by who were going close to the route of the articulados were taken into account.
This was achieved thanks to the researchers' measurement of 3 types of air pollutants, through portable monitors that engineers managed to carry inside the buses. These data were collected mainly during peak hours, these being between 7 and 10 in the morning. In fact, it was not only possible to determine how much the pollution generated by the articulates with these fuels decreased, but it was also possible to 'demystify' the idea that “TransMilenio” did not pollute as much”; the study proved quite the opposite, to the point of showing that these vehicles affected the quality of life of their users.
According to El Espectador, research will continue on the part of the university, as they will begin to assess the impact that SITP blue buses will have, which will be electric, so polluting levels will vary, which would show that the public sector is implementing measures to improve environmental conditions of the city. However, air quality in Bogotá is not yet optimal, mainly due to road and private vehicle transport.
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