Skip to main content

Cycling is the fastest way of travelling across Buenos Aires

A study by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) shows cycling, rather than travelling by car or bus, as the fastest way of travelling in Buenos Aires city. By bike, it takes 26 minutes to travel between Parque Centenario and Plaza de Mayo, compared to 40 minutes that takes by bus and 41 minutes by car. The journeys were at the same time (8:50AM). The average speed for a bike is 16.2km/h, compared to 10.5km/h for a bus and 10.3km/h for a car. Because of parking, car travel is the mo
May 9, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A study by the 5466 Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) shows cycling, rather than travelling by car or bus, as the fastest way of travelling in Buenos Aires city. By bike, it takes 26 minutes to travel between Parque Centenario and Plaza de Mayo, compared to 40 minutes that takes by bus and 41 minutes by car. The journeys were at the same time (8:50AM). The average speed for a bike is 16.2km/h, compared to 10.5km/h for a bus and 10.3km/h for a car. Because of parking, car travel is the most expensive way of travelling and also the most unsustainable one.

Meanwhile, an increase in the cost of underground fares in Buenos Aires city has driven users away. The first quarter of 2012 saw a 14 per cent drop in the number of underground passengers, soon after the standard fare more than doubled. The underground system was used by 56.11 million passengers in the first three months of 2012, down from 65.43 million in the same period of 2011. In contrast, the number of bus passengers rose 10.7 per cent. The amount of traffic going through the city's road entrances increased 13.7 per cent in March alone.

Related Content

  • January 30, 2012
    Mounting benefits of dynamic tolling project
    Wisconsin's four-year HOT lanes pilot project, launched in May 2008, cost US$18.8 million to construct. Halfway into the project, which uses variably priced, or dynamic, tolling to improve highway efficiency, the benefits are mounting. The problem was obvious, and frustrating, to anyone who ever sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic on State Route 167 and watched a lone car whiz by every 20 seconds or so in the carpool lane. But for planners at the Washington State Department of Transportation, the conundrum was
  • November 26, 2013
    US favours express buses are for intercity travel
    David Crawford records an upsurge in ground travel. Express buses are powering ahead of air and rail as the US’ most-favoured form of intercity travel and major operators are investing in passenger-attracting and retaining technologies. At the same time ‘kayak’-style price comparison websites are emerging to widen rider choice. Modelled on airline industry search engines that find cheap flight deals by comparing carriers’ offers, these new websites aim to fill the same gap for a ground-travel equivalent
  • November 17, 2014
    Air quality tops transportation agendas
    Colin Sowman catches up on some of the latest research around outdoor pollution and looks at options available to authorities in areas of poor air quality. Iair quality hasn’t already reached the top of the agenda in transportation department meetings in your area, it probably soon will with national, trans-national and even global bodies calling for authorities to reduce pollution levels.
  • January 27, 2012
    Ramp metering delivers - again
    Though still controversial, ramp metering, which has been around for nearly 50 years, continues to deliver substantial benefits, and generally for relatively small cost. Kansas City is a case in point. In March 2010, Kansas City Scout, a partnership between the Missouri and Kansas Departments of Transportation to provide ITS for the greater Kansas City Area, activated the first ramp metering system in the region. The project is located on an 8.85km (5.5 mile) section of Interstate 435 from Metcalf Avenue to