A day without cars

Last thursday was "a day without cars" in Bogota. Once a year the government enforces a ban on driving for one day. The only transportation available on this day is that of buses, the Transmilenio public transit, and taxis. This is the 8th year the Bogota has had a car-free day, which is celebrated under the name "Clean Air Day".

Bogota is ranked in the top 4 cities with dirtiest air in Latin America, right after Mexico City, Santiago de Chile, and Sao Paulo. But one day without all the smog can really make a difference. On this day the air was much cleaner and easier to breathe, as more than 1 million personal cars were kept off the road from 6:30am to 7:30pm. The downside was that it was nearly impossible to catch a cab, and the buses were packed even more than they usually are (and they're usually PACKED!)

Another way that Colombia tries to fight air pollution and heavy traffic is with a system they call "pico y placa". In the pico y placa system, cars with license plates that start with certain numbers are banned from the streets on certain days. For example, on Monday, any car with a license plate that starts with 1, 2, 3, or 4 is not allowed to drive, otherwise they will receive a large fine. On Tuesday it's 5, 6, 7, 8. Wednesday 9, 0, 1, 2. Thursday 3, 4, 5, 6. And so on. This means that every car, bus and taxi is not allowed to drive 2 days a week. This really helps to lessen traffic, as traffic through the very narrow Colombian streets is the worst enemy of any driving Bogotano.