Decentralization is a key aspect of sustainable mobility and other public policies for growth. Having plans beyond the big capitals generates development and economic growth.
In this sense, in the interior of Argentina there are emerging initiatives that seek to promote an efficient and healthy way to move around with programs that include light vehicles.
In Catamarca city, the “Vamos en Bici” program was launched, a sustainable mobility service that will allow residents and tourists to borrow bicycles from the stations, which are currently located in five strategic points, and use them for a maximum of one hour, with a tolerance of 10 minutes.
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Pioneering Plan
For the first time, the city of Catamarca offers its inhabitants a new system of 200 public bicycles.
Currently, they are distributed in five stations: Plaza 25 de Mayo, Plaza Virgen del Valle, Plaza de la Estación, Plaza de Choya and the Teacher Training Institute.
In addition to serving as a solution to heavy traffic, this initiative aims to provide an option that contributes significantly to the environment.
Accessibility
In its first phase, access to the system will be free for three months for users. In addition, residents will soon have the opportunity to vote and decide where the next stations will be located in different parts of the city.
It works by downloading an application, then registering and scanning the code of the bicycle you wish to use.
The authorities of Catamarca highlighted that there was a great work to materialize this idea, and they assure that it must have continuity so that the city recognizes that the priority is given to pedestrians, then cyclists, third public transport and finally private cars; a need that is supported by road safety and environmental protection, since the bicycle is zero polluting.
Officials of the entity described the initiative as “a dream come true”, with which “mobility ecosystems are implemented, contemplating the particularities of our city, which due to its slopes also demanded the incorporation of electric bicycles”, and which requires respect and harmony from all the neighbors who move in the urban area.
For the operation of “Vamos en Bici” there are about 70 agents providing services and attending all the stations.
