Accidents dramatically down in Semana Santa, and changes to ‘Pico y Placa’
Changes have been made to the city’s Pico y Placa system, but critics say an overhaul is needed. Photo: Oli Pritchard
According to police, this year’s Semana Santa saw a 64% reduction in road accidents compared with last year.
In comparison with 962 accidents in 2013, this year 346 accidents took place over the holiday period.
There was also a 5% increase in mobility according to police statistics. Over 8 million vehicles passed through the major highways, with over 1 million of these in Bogotá and 2.2 million in Cundinamarca as a whole.
433 people were fined for drink driving during the holiday.
In other transport news, changes to Bogotá’s ‘Pico y Placa’ system were announced this week. The system, which is aimed at reducing congestion in the capital city, sees drivers only allowed to drive their vehicles on alternate days.
Interim mayor Rafael Pardo made three changes to the system in his time in office- almost one a week.
The most recent change sees restrictions relaxed in the centre of the city (between calle 6 and 26 and from the avenida Circunvalación and Carrera 27) for drivers with two or more passengers.
The ‘Pico y Placa’ was maintained from 6 to 8:30 am and 3 to 7:30 pm Monday through Friday in the centre, but drivers with multiple passengers will now be exempt.
The system has been subject to constant changes and there are calls for a better solution to the city’s congestion problems.
