Congestion costs Latin American cities millions of dollars, says IDB

A study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) published this Wednesday concluded that Latin American cities are among the most congested in the world, a phenomenon that costs Brazil’s Sao Paulo, for example, about US $ 2 billion annually.

According to the report, the indiscriminate construction of more roads and highways has significantly increased the number of vehicles on the roads in recent times.

The “smart management”Of road traffic, with tools such as“connected mobility”And real-time management is seen as the most efficient alternative to reduce congestion in cities.

The bank gave an example of the experience of real-time traffic management in Buenos Aires, where the platform EcoTrafIx from Kapsch TrafficCom deployed an innovative system that integrates different technologies and “changed traffic control from reactive management to proactive and collaborative management ”.

Now, the BID, “Buenos Aires has a modern, state-of-the-art integrated control center that makes traffic management and communication between the different traffic agencies in the city easier and more efficient.”.

“With current technology we can direct traffic on the roads in ways that avoid congestion and improve the traffic experience for all actors, from drivers to cyclists and pedestrians.”Said the executive vice president for Latin America of Kapsch TrafficCom, Emilio Rivas.

Bogota, São Paulo, Caracas and Mexico City They are the cities with the highest traffic congestion in Latin America and economic and population growth and continuous urbanization are the causes of the increase in traffic, according to experts.