Native name Mi Teleférico Number of stations 14 (14 in planning) | Number of lines 4 (7 in planning) | |
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Owner Empresa Estatal de Transporte por Cable "Mi Teleférico" | ||
Mi Teleférico ([mi tele'feɾiko], English: My Cable Car), also known as Teleférico La Paz–El Alto (La Paz–El Alto Cable Car), is an aerial cable car urban transit system serving the La Paz–El Alto metropolitan area in Bolivia. Four lines are currently in operation, and seven more are in planning or under construction. The system was built by the Austrian company Doppelmayr Garaventa Group. Phase One, which consists of the Red, Yellow, and Green lines, opened in 2014. The Blue Line, the first line in Phase Two, opened in 2017. The network currently consists of 14 stations, with interchanges at Chuqui Apu/Libertador (Yellow and Green Lines) and Jach'a Qhathu/16 de Julio (Red and Blue Lines). Two lines (Red and Yellow) connect the neighboring cities of La Paz and El Alto, which are separated by an elevation change of about 400 m (1,300 ft).
Contents
- Background
- Phase One
- Phase Two
- Lines in operation
- Stations
- Incidents
- Intermodal transfers
- Mobile application
- References
Upon the completion of the 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) Phase One in 2014, the system was considered to be the longest aerial cable car system in the world, and Phase Two will extend the system length by over 20 km (12 mi). While other urban transit cable cars like Medellín's Metrocable complement existing rapid transit systems, Mi Teleférico is the first urban transit network to use cable cars as the primary mode of transportation.
The system was planned in order to address a number of problems, including a precarious public transit system that could not cope with growing user demands, the high cost in time and money of traveling between La Paz and El Alto, chaotic traffic with its subsequent environmental and noise pollution, and a growing demand for gasoline and diesel fuel, which are subsidized by the state.
Background
The neighboring cities of El Alto and La Paz are the second and third most populous cities in Bolivia. Despite their proximity, travel between the two has always been a challenge, due to a difference in elevation of about 400 m (1,300 ft). La Paz, the national capital of Bolivia, is located in a canyon on the Choqueyapu River, while El Alto, a poorer but growing city with a majority indigenous population, is located above it on the Altiplano plateau. Prior to the construction of the cable car, travel between La Paz and El Alto was limited to heavily crowded, winding streets, and the only public transit consisted of buses and minibuses that often got stuck in traffic. In order to alleviate this situation, the idea of connecting the two cities with a cable car has been proposed several times since the 1970s.
In the 1970s, under city councilman Mario Mercado Vaca Guzmán, a team planned an aerial cable car route connecting the neighborhoods of La Ceja in El Alto and La Florida in La Paz.
In 1990, under mayor Ronald MacLean Abaroa, a feasibility study was undertaken for a cable car between La Ceja in El Alto and the Plaza de San Francisco in La Paz. The most controversial aspects of the plan were the fare, the low passenger capacity, and the proximity to the Basilica of San Francisco. During the 1991 municipal elections, the Conciencia de Patria (CONDEPA) party candidate Julio Mantilla argued against a cable car, claiming it would cost minibus drivers their livelihoods and impact privacy.
In the 1993 municipal elections, mayoral candidate Mónica Medina, also of the CONDEPA party, made aerial transit one of her campaign promises, modifying the original idea of a single line into a system of interconnected cable car lines with a hub on Lainkakota hill.
In 2003, under mayor Juan del Granado, the project returned to the table, but details such as tower placement stalled the work. The planned San Francisco terminal was moved to the Zapata soccer field near the Higher University of San Andrés, but the idea was still too controversial to move ahead.
In 2011, the Municipal Government of La Paz carried out a study on potential ridership demand, and found that the city handles 1.7 million trips per day, including 350,000 trips between La Paz and El Alto.
Phase One
In July 2012, Bolivian President Evo Morales Ayma sent the Plurinational Legislative Assembly a bill for the construction of a cable car to connect El Alto with the center and south of La Paz. Morales called together the mayor of La Paz, Luis Revilla, the mayor of El Alto, Édgar Patana, and the governor of the La Paz Department, César Cocarico, to participate in the project. The project was financed by the country's National Treasury with an internal loan from the Central Bank of Bolivia.
The system's Phase One consisted of the Red Line, Yellow Line, and Green Line, which are also the colors of the Bolivian flag. Phase One was inaugurated and began operation on 30 May 2014.
Phase Two
On 1 July 2014, Evo Morales announced five new interconnected lines to be built in the coming years. On 26 January 2015, the law permitting construction of Phase Two was passed, increasing the number of new lines to six and committing $450 million to the project. A seventh line was announced in February 2016, and an eighth was announced in July 2016. Phase Two will extend the system by over 20 km (12 mi).
The first Phase Two line to enter into service was the Blue Line, which opened on 3 March 2017. The remaining seven lines will be the Orange, White, Purple, Sky Blue, Brown, Silver, and Gold Lines.
Lines in operation
The Mi Teleférico system consists of monocable aerial cable car lines. Each line has a maximum capacity of 6000 passengers per hour. The network has a total of four lines, with 443 cars on the Red, Green, and Yellow Lines and 208 on the Blue Line. Each car seats 10 passengers. Cars depart every 12 seconds, and the network is open 17 hours a day.
Stations
All stations have both a Spanish name and an Aymara name.
Incidents
When the system first opened, riders experienced delays of 2 to 25 minutes, which the government attributed to technical problems and riders holding doors.
On February 14, 2015, a eucalyptus tree fell, striking an empty cabin on the Yellow Line, dislocating the cable and leaving passengers stranded for three hours. 19 passengers suffered bruises and other minor injuries, but there were no major injuries, and only minor damage to three cabins.
On May 9, 2016, a tower from the construction of the Blue Line fell, with 9 injured and no deaths.
Intermodal transfers
Beginning in December 2014, the Mi Teleférico and La Paz Bus systems began allowing passenger transfers at the Chuqui Apu station.
Mobile application
Mi Teleferico has released a mobile application for Android and Apple with information about existing and future lines.