POLICY NOTE
SENSITIVITY OF VULNERABLE
POPULATIONS TO CHANGES IN
PUBLIC TRANSPORT FARES,
DISAGGREGATED BY GENDER
THE CASE OF BO G O TÁ




Public transport is the basis of transport systems in dense urban centers, especially in cities that
already have—or are developing—relatively advanced systems, namely those that operate high-
capacity vehicles or use fixed routes and schedules.ª A challenge that governments of low- and
middle-income countries frequently face in the design of their public transport systems is how to set
fares that ensure their financial sustainability, while, at the same time, making them affordable for a
high proportion of the population with low capacity to pay.ᵇ Against this background, one important
question that needs to be addressed is: how sensitive is the demand for public transport to changes in
fares, particularly for vulnerable groups? The answer to this question is critical for estimating public
transport use, which has operational and financial implications, and is also important to achieve
redistribution goals.


                                                          This note is the second in a series that seeks
                                                          to study the mobility patterns and constraints
                                                          of vulnerable groups in Bogotá, the capital
                                                          and largest urban center in Colombia, aiming
                                                          at understanding how to enhance access to
                                                          opportunities that will improve their well-
                                                          being.¹ This second note analyzes how the
                                                          demand          of     Bogotá’s          Integrated          Public
                                                          Transport System (SITP) responds to changes
                                                          in fares, for groups classified as A, B and C in
                                                          the      System           for      Identifying           Potential
                                                          Beneficiaries of Social Programs (Sisbén).
                                                          These groups represent the population with


                                                          ¹ The first note, “Mobility and Well-being of Vulnerable Populations in
© Galo Naranjo/Flickr                                     Bogotá: Gender Gaps in Urban Mobility” can be accessed at this link.



                                                                                                                              1
lower income-earning capacity and those who are
at risk of falling into moderate or extreme
poverty.² This analysis aims to contribute to the
discussion on how to provide targeted support to
vulnerable populations, without losing sight of the
importance      of    improving     the    financial
sustainability of public transport, both in Bogotá
and in similar contexts.³

THE SITP AND THE SETTING OF
FARES
The SITP is the backbone of the public transport
system in the city of Bogotá, and its urban coverage
is extensive. It organizes and integrates the
operations of the different modes of public
transport (Trunk, Urban, Feeders, Complementary
and special). 4, 5, c An important characteristic
of the SITP is that it centralizes the
collection of fares from all parts of the
system, by implementing a single
smart payment card called TuLlave
(YourKey). By doing so, the SITP is
able to reduce the cost of travel for                                                                                       © Felipe Restrepo Acosta/Wikimedia Commons
users who need to make transfers
between different transport services.⁶                                                                 several changes to the eligibility criteria
This smart card system also facilitates                                                            for Sisben SITP Incentive and the size of the
the implementation of differentiated fares for                                           the discount has varied between 15 percent and 60
specific categories of users, such as people with                                        percent of the total fare. In addition, users over 62
low income-earning capacity, identified as such                                          years of age and persons with disabilities also
under the Sisbén clasification. Such users can                                           benefit from fare reductions. In general, all SITP
access preferential fares that are discounted by a                                       fares (with and without incentives) are updated
specific percent compared to the full price fare                                         every year in the month of January, to ensure the
(Sisbén SITP Incentive) that has been in place                                           financial sustainability of the system and maintain
since 2014. Since its inception, there have been                                         the quality of the service offered to users. A variety
                                                                                         of factors, such as inflation, operating costs and fare
                                                                                         studies are taken into consideration when
² Established in 1995, Sisbén is a system used in Colombia to classify the
population by living conditions and income. It serves as a tool for the                  implementing these changes.
implementation of targeted social programs at the national and regional levels.
³ The SITP has reported increasing operating financial deficits since 2012. See, e.g.,
Hidalgo, D. (December 20, 2022). Transmilenio a 3 mil ¿despropósito (Transmilenio
at 3,000 pesos, an absurdity?). La Silla Vacía. Last accessed: February 13, 2024.
⁴ The SITP includes several components: Transmilenio or bus rapid transit (BRT)
system, which consists of rapid transit buses that travel on dedicated roads; a          CHANGES IN SITP FARES IN 2023
subsystem of zonal buses and feeders, which travel on the main roads of the city,
connecting various locations of the established routes and different components
of the system; and a cable car-like subsystem called Transmicable, which connects        This note analyzes the modifications to the SITP fare
various areas on the outskirts of the city with the other components.
⁵ System integration includes “the articulation, linkage and integrated operation of     policy and the methodology to determine eligibility
the different modes of public transport; Institutions or entities established for the    for the Sisbén SITP Incentive that was outlined by
planning, organization, and control of traffic, and public transportation; as well as
for the infrastructure required for accessibility, circulation and collection,           the government of Bogotá in January 2023. These
information and monitoring and help service to users of the system” (Decree 309          changes resulted in significant increases in fares for
of 2009 of the Office of the Mayor of Bogotá D.C.).
⁶ Reduced fares for transfers require users to have a personalized card (as opposed      the poor and persons at risk of falling into poverty,
to an anonymous card), with which they can make up to two reduced-fare                   presenting an opportunity to understand the extent
transfers in a 110-minute time window. Reduced fares for transfers were between
0 and 8 percent of full fares in 2022.                                                   to which the demand for public transport among

2
these groups respond by adjustments in the fares                                       the incentive because of its Sisbén III score (higher
they pay. The two fare changes analyzed are                                            than 30.56) was nevertheless deemed eligible by
described below:                                                                       virtue of being placed in group A or B of Sisbén IV. A
                                                                                       fourth group includes persons not eligible for the
   1. The Decree on the annual update of the SITP                                      Sisbén Incentive, based on both the Sisbén III cut-off
      fare was issued on January 6, 2023. For users not                                score and the new Sisbén IV classification. These
      benefiting from the Sisbén SITP Incentive, the                                   changes took effect on February 1, 2023.ᵉ
      increase amounted to 12 percent in nominal
      terms (-1 percent in real terms), or one point                                   Table 1 shows the aggregate changes in fares in
      below the 13 percent year-on-year inflation for                                  nominal and real terms for each group after these two
      Bogotá recorded in January 2023. For people                                      changes took effect. As a reference, prior to the
      who benefited from the Sisbén SITP Incentive,                                    changes, the full fare for the two main SITP
      the price had not increased since 2019 despite                                   components was Col$ 2,650 (US$0.55) for buses on
      inflation, so the applied increase was much                                      the Transmilenio trunk lines and Col$ 2,450 (US$0.51)
      greater: 38 percent in nominal terms, or 22                                      for the zonal bus subsystem in December 2022.
      percent in real terms over the previous year. This
                                                                                          Table 1. Percentage changes in potential fares paid by SITP
      change became effective as of January 10, 2023.ᵈ                                    users, based on their eligibility for the Sisbén Incentive (III and
                                                                                          IV): February 2023 vs. December 2022.
  2. A Decree outlining a transition in the eligibility
     criterion for receiving the Sisbén SITP Incentive                                 GROUP                                            NOMINAL          REAL
     based on Sisbén IV was issued on January 27,                                      1. Lost eligibility
                                                                                                                                            65%           47%
     2023. When the incentive was created in 2014,                                     (Sisbén III = <30.56 and Sisbén IV = C or D)
     the classification used to target social programs                                 2. Retained eligibility
                                                                                                                                            38%           22%
     was Sisbén III. As of 2021, the government has                                    (Sisbén III =<30.56 and Sisbén IV = A or B)

     implemented a new Sisbén classification (Sisbén                                   3. Acquired eligibility
                                                                                                                                            -7%          -17%
                                                                                       (Sisbén III >30.56 and Sisbén IV = A or B)
     IV), to improve targeting. Subsequently, national
     and regional social programs gradually                                            4.  Was never eligible
                                                                                                                                            12%           -1%
                                                                                       (Sisbén III >30.56 and Sisbén IV = C or D)
     transitioned to using this new classification to
     designate the beneficiary population. Before this                                 Notes: The changes in fares are simple averages of the trunk and zonal
     change, persons with a Sisbén III score equal to                                  components, which were similar. For example, persons who lost eligibility
                                                                                       faced nominal changes of 63.9 percent in the trunk component fare and 66.7
     or lower than 30.56 (out of 100) were eligible                                    percent in the zonal component fare. The actual change in the fare discounts
     for the incentive; following the change in 2023,                                  year-on-year inflation for Bogotá of 12.7 percent in January 2023, according
                                                                                       to the Banco de la República de Colombia and the National Administrative
     persons in groups A and B of Sisbén IV (made up                                   Department of Statistics (DANE).
     of groups A, B, C and D) became eligible.⁷ As a
     result of this change, corresponding adjustments                                  Meanwhile, the preferential rate with the Sisbén
     were made to the fares of four groups of users,                                   SITP Incentive was Col$ 1,800 (US$ 0.38) and Col$
     depending on their previous and current                                           1,650 (US$ 0.34), which amounted to a discount of
                                                                                                                                8, f
     eligibility to receive the incentive. A first group,                              32 percent and 33 percent, respectively.
     previously eligible under the Sisbén III
     classification (i.e., individuals with a score equal                              It is important to note that the incentive fares and
     to or lower than 30.56), lost eligibility when they                               their related changes apply only to SITP users who
     were classified under groups C or D of Sisbén                                     are eligible to receive the incentive and have
     IV, which are not eligible to receive the                                         registered in order to receive a subsidized TuLlave
     incentive. Persons in another group retained                                      card. Prior to the 2023 changes, the Sisbén SITP
     eligibility, due to the fact that their Sisbén III                                Incentive registration rate was around 50 percent; in
     score was lower than or equal to 30.56 and they                                   other words, half of the eligible population had not
     remained in groups A or B of Sisbén IV. A third                                   registered to receive the incentive.ᵍ Eligible users
     group that would have been ineligible to receive                                  who have not registered are subject to the same
                                                                                       pricing and changes as users who are ineligible.
⁷ Groups A and B correspond to the population classified by Sisbén as living in
extreme and moderate poverty; group C corresponds to the vulnerable population         ⁸ Dollar values are calculated by taking the monthly average Representative
or persons at risk of falling into poverty. Group D refers to the population that is   Market Exchange Rate for December 2022 of Col$ 4,788 to one US dollar, as
considered neither poor nor vulnerable.                                                reported by the Banco de la República de Colombia.



                                                                                                                                                                3
                                                                            Figure 1. Monthly SITP validations (trips) for people who had and subsequently lost the incentive,
                                                                            relative to people who were never eligible, before and after the fare changes in January 2023
                                                                            (January 2022 – November 2023).
                                                                             40
                                                                                                                                                 Lost eligibility and had the incentive
                                                                             35
                                                                                                                                                 (Sisbén IV = C, Sisbén III ≤ 30,56)




                                                      Monthly validations
                                                                             30
                                                                             25
                                                                             20
                                                                                                                                                 Was never eligible and never had the incentive
                                                                             15
                                                                                                                                                 (Sisbén IV = C, Sisbén III > 30,56)
                                                                             10
                                                                              5
                                                                              0
                                                                                              4/22        7/22          10/22            1/23            4/23            7/23             10/23
                                                                                                                                 Month/year
                                                                 1/22
                                                       Notes: Author  calculations using TuLlave data and the baseline survey for the study on mobility and the fare policy for
                                                       Sisbén beneficiaries (Development Impact [DIME] department, 2022). There are 1,259 people in the two groups analyzed.
                                                       See footnote 12 for more details.
                                                                                                              fare rate increase of 38 percent (22 percent in real
                                                                                                              terms). At the time of publication of this note, the
© Leandro
        © Neumann  Ciuffo/Wikimedia
          Leandro Neumann           Commons
                           Ciuffo/Wikimedia Commons
                                                                                                              registration rate for the third group, made up of
                                                                                                              persons who gained eligibility, was very low (15
       METHODS USED IN THE ANALYSIS                                                                           percent of persons eligible). As a result, no estimates
                                                                                                              have yet been made, due to potential problems of
       This analysis was carried out using data from the                                                      representativeness of the sample and the risk of
       TuLlave smart cards, based on a random sample of                                                       obtaining biased results.¹⁰ Estimates of the impact of
       about 3,000 users selected from groups A, B and C of                                                   the change in fares on trips taken using the SITP are
       the Sisbén IV census.⁹ In 2022, before the fare policy                                                 based on a difference-in-differences (DID) method,
       changes were introduced, a Baseline Survey was                                                         using as a comparison group persons who were never
       conducted among this group, to determine certain                                                       eligible (group 4 in table 1). This group faced a near-
       socioeconomic characteristics and mobility patterns.                                                   zero change in real terms.
       For those users participating in the survey who gave
       their consent to having their TuLlave card data                                                        To illustrate these comparisons, figure 1 shows the
       accessed, we linked the user survey data with the                                                      number of monthly validations for the group that
       related card validation data, which records every time                                                 had the incentive and subsequently lost eligibility,
       that people use public transportation. Monthly trips in                                                before and after the change in fares—between
       the SITP are calculated as total validations per month,                                                January 2022 and November 2023—compared to
       based on TuLlave card data. In total, we used 1.6                                                      validations by the group that has never been eligible.
       million validations in the SITP system registered by                                                   Before the January 2023 changes, people who had
       the study sample group during the period under                                                         the incentive and lost eligibility traveled more by the
       consideration: between January 2022 and November                                                       the SITP than people who have never been eligible,
       2023.                                                                                                  but the differences between the two groups are
                                                                                                              stable over time, thus validating the use of the
       In conducting the analysis, we started by estimating                                                   chosen DID method. 11, 12
       the impact of the fare change on SITP usage
       (number of trips) over the 10 months following the                                                      ¹⁰ Estimates for this group will be made once a higher registration rate is achieved.
                                                                                                               Various pilot studies that we conducted between May and July 2023 to analyze the
       changes in fares (between February and November                                                         barriers to registration in the Sisbén SITP Incentive program suggest that the main
                                                                                                               barriers to registering for the incentive are (i) a lack of information: most newly
       2023) for the first two groups in table 1: (i) people                                                   eligible persons are not aware of the incentive; (ii) the lack of time; and (iii) problems
       who had access to the incentive but lost eligibility,                                                   at the time of registration, e.g. not having brought the physical card and/or not
                                                                                                               having canceled a personalized card prior to registration.
       who faced a nominal price increase of 65 percent                                                        ¹¹ The DID method estimates the impact as deviations from parallel trends in the
                                                                                                               outcome variables (trips) between the treatment and comparison groups after the
       (47 percent in real terms, discounting inflation); and                                                  change in policy. In relation to monthly trips using the TuLlave card, all treatment
       (ii) people who had access to the incentive and                                                         groups show parallel trends with the comparison group before the policy change.
                                                                                                               The results are robust to several estimation methods, including double differences
       retained their eligibility, who experienced a nominal                                                   with multiple control variables and a fixed-effect model.
                                                                                                               ¹² The analysis conducted includes validations for people who personalized their
                                                                                                               TuLlave card, gave consent to use their data, and used the SITP at some point
                                                                                                               between January 2022 and November 2023. If there were no validations by the user
        ⁹ The sample includes people between the ages of 18 and 62 years and was                               in a given month over the period, 0 validations were computed for the person in that
        randomly selected for the four groups in Table 1.                                                      month, if there had been validations in any previous month since March 2018.



        4
Once the impact of the fare change on the number of                                      Many of these differences in levels of frequency by
validations was calculated, the price elasticities of                                    gender are due to the fact that 42 percent of men
demand were estimated by dividing the percentage                                         state that they do not use the SITP for any of their
change in the monthly number of SITP trips caused by                                     weekly trips, opting instead for other means of
the fare changes, by the percentage change in the real                                   transportation, whereas only 19 percent of women
price. This analysis was done for people who had                                         dispense with the services of the SITP during the
either lost or retained their eligibility and had                                        week. Men and women who use the SITP on a weekly
registered to receive the incentive before the January                                   basis have more similarities in their mobility patterns:
2023 changes. The results for men and women are                                          within this group, women use the SITP for 74 percent
also presented separately.¹³ We focus on the price-                                      of their trips and men for 69 percent.ʰ
elasticity of demand, since this indicator allows us to
compare the sensitivity to price changes in a                                            Among users of the SITP with the personalized
standardized unit, in other words, the change in                                         TuLlave card who were included in the survey,
demand in percentage units for each percentage unit                                      women made an average of 24 monthly validations in
of the change in price. Elasticity is an especially useful                               the SITP during 2022, before the fare changes,
measure for comparing the responses of groups                                            compared to 21 monthly validations for men. Within
facing different fare changes; for example, it is used                                   this group, persons who had registered to receive the
for comparing the response in real terms of people                                       Sisbén SITP Incentive used the system more
who lost the incentive to those who retained it.                                         frequently: women performed 30 monthly validations
                                                                                         and men 26 validations in the same period.

RESULTS OF THE ANALYSIS                                                                  Price elasticities of demand for the SITP for
SITP usage and gender differences in Sisbén                                              Sisbén groups A, B and C
groups A, B and C prior to the fare changes
                                                                                         Over the 10 months following the changes in the
According to the baseline survey collected in 2022 for                                   SITP fares (between February and November 2023),
the study sample, Sisbén groups A, B and C make                                          the poor and at risk of falling into moderate or
frequent trips (73 percent travel 10 times a week or                                     extreme poverty (Sisbén groups A, B and C)
more).¹⁴ However, there are marked gender-related                                        significantly adjusted their use of the SITP, with
differences, especially with respect to the modes of                                     marked differences over time and according to
transportation used. Although men make 14 percent                                        gender. Three main messages may be highlighted and
more weekly trips by any mode of transportation                                          are summarized in Table 2 and in Figures 2 and 3.
compared to women (on average they make 16 trips,
compared to 14 for women), women use the SITP                                               Table 2. Price elasticities of demand for the SITP for people
                                                                                            who lost or retained the SITP Incentive, during the 10 months
more intensively (60 percent of women’s weekly
                                                                                            following the fare changes in 2023.
trips are by the SITP, compared to 40 percent of trips                                      Sisbén groups A, B and C.
made by men). For women in Sisbén groups A, B and
C, income level does not significantly influence the                                                                        LOST           RETAINED
frequency with which they use the SITP. However,                                                                      ELIGIBILITY, HAD ELIGIBILITY, HAD
                                                                                                                       THE INCENTIVE THE INCENTIVE
this is not the case for men: men in the lower-income
                                                                                                                         (SISBÉN C)    (SISBÉN A AND B)
group use the system more frequently (47 percent of
weekly trips) than men in the higher-income group                                         Real fare change                     47%                     22%

(38 percent).¹⁵                                                                          Impact on validations*
                                                                                           Monthly validations                -4.74                    -2.4
                                                                                           (Feb. – Nov. 2023)
¹³ Elasticities are estimated on the basis of real price changes, since changes in the   Percentage (with respect
fares are set at the beginning of the calendar year, when wages and other prices
                                                                                           to validations in Feb. –           -16%                     -9%
are also adjusted in accordance with inflation rates of the preceding year.
                                                                                           Nov. 2022)
¹⁴ These trips include journeys that have a departure point and a destination point,
are made for a specific purpose, and last 10 minutes or more, or are trips of any
                                                                                         Elasticity                           -0.34                   -0.39
duration, for “work” or “study” purposes. This definition is consistent with the
definition in the 2019 Mobility Survey, but excludes trips lasting between three
and 10 minutes that are not for “work” or “study” purposes.
                                                                                         Notes: *Impacts are statistically significant at 1 percent and 5 percent,
¹⁵ The surveyed households were divided into quintiles of per capita income: five
groups divided by per capita income, from the lowest to the highest. The highest         respectively. Author calculations using TuLlave data and the baseline survey
income quintile is also vulnerable, as the study only includes the population in the     for the study on mobility and the fare policy for Sisbén beneficiaries (DIME,
lowest Sisbén groups (A, B and C).                                                       2022). See the section on methods and footnote 12 for more details.


                                                                                                                                                                   5
                                                                      2. The impact of fare changes on SITP trips varies
                                                                      over time, suggesting that users need time to adjust
                                                                      their demand to price changes. As shown in figure 2,
                                                                      the price elasticity of demand was -0.26 in the first
                                                                      five months after the change (February to June
                                                                      2023), compared to -0.48, almost twice as much, in
                                                                      months 6 to 10 after the change (July to November
                                                                      2023). This implies that doubling the real incentive
                                                                      fare price leads to a shorter-term reduction of
                                                                      demand of 26 percent and a medium-term reduction
                                                                      in demand of 48 percent. It is therefore necessary to
                                                                      wait a while to gauge the long-term adjustment that
                                                                      these groups make to changes in SITP prices.
                                   © Claudio Olivares Medina/Flickr




                                                                        Figure 2. Price elasticity of SITP demand (2023), by time
1. Despite facing significantly different changes in                    elapsed after fare changes for groups A, B and C of Sisbén IV
the real fares of the SITP (47 percent vs. 22 percent)                             Months 1-5 after the               Months 6 to 10 after
and being classified at different levels of economic                                    change                           the change
                                                                       0,00
vulnerability, the groups that either lost or retained
                                                                      –0,10
the incentive report a similar change in their SITP
demand as a response to changes in the fares they                     –0,20
                                                                                            –0,26
pay (Table 2). People who lost access to the                          –0,30
incentive reported a price-elasticity of demand for
                                                                      –0,40
the SITP of -0.34, while those who retained the                                                                                –0,48
incentive reported a price-elasticity of -0.39. These                 –0,50

values mean, for example, that doubling the real                      Notes: Author calculations using TuLlave data and the baseline survey for the
                                                                      study on mobility and the fare policy for Sisbén beneficiaries (DIME, 2022).
price of the incentive fare (which is applied to a
                                                                      See the section on methods and footnote 12 for more details.
maximum of 30 validations per month), would lead
to a reduction in total validations (trips) in the
                                                                        Figure 3. Price elasticity of SITP demand (2023), by gender and
following 10 months of:                                                 time elapsed after fare changes for population groups A, B and
                                                                        C of Sisbén IV
    34 percent for users in Sisbén group C (those                                        MEN                                 WOMEN
    who lost the incentive and are classified by                               Months 1-5  Months 6-10            Months 1-5          Months 6-10
                                                                       0,00
    Sisbén as a population at risk of falling into
    poverty).                                                         –0,10
                                                                                                                     –0,17
                                                                      –0,20
    39 percent for users in Sisbén groups A and B                     –0,30                                      Months 1-10: -0.25
                                                                                                                                         –0,32

    (those who retained the incentive and are                         –0,40
                                                                                   –0,41

    classified by Sisbén as the group living in                       –0,50
    extreme to moderate poverty).                                     –0,60   Months 1-10: -0.55
                                                                                                    –0,70
                                                                      –0,70
It should be noted that the group that retained the
                                                                      Notes: Author calculations using TuLlave data and the baseline survey for the
incentive, classified as extremely or moderately poor                 study on mobility and the fare policy for Sisbén beneficiaries (DIME, 2022).
(Sisbén groups A and B), has access to other                          See the section on methods and footnote 12 for more details.
incentives and social programs of the government of
Colombia or the government of Bogotá. These                           3. Price sensitivity is higher for men than for women
incentives and programs have been adjusted and                        (more than double, see Figure 3): taking into account
consolidated in recent years. In this context, the                    the heterogeneity of user responses over time,
results imply that, despite access to other social                    doubling the real price of the fare would lead to a
programs and their recent adjustments, the level of                   reduction in the total number of ticket validations, to
SITP demand by people classified as Sisbén A and B                    the tune of:
continues to be sensitive to fare changes.

6
© Felipe Restrepo Acosta/Wikimedia Commons




       70 percent for men in Sisbén groups A, B and C       particular to decisions on how to set fares that balance
       in months 6 to 10 after the change (vs. 41           the financial sustainability of the system while, at the
       percent in the first five months).                   same time, allowing large vulnerable segments of the
       32 percent for women in Sisbén groups A, B and       population—the poor and those at risk of falling into
       in months 6 to 10 after the change (vs. 17           poverty but who stand to benefit significantly from
       percent in the first five months).                   public transport—to access public transport.

Higher price sensitivity for men may likely be due to       The findings recorded in this note shed light on the
the fact that men use more modes of transportation          fact that:
than women (they have more alternatives),¹⁶ for                 There is considerable sensitivity in the use of
example:                                                        public transport to changes in fares paid by users
       Women use the SITP for the majority of their             in the three lowest socioeconomic groups in
       work trips (67 percent), followed by trips on foot       Bogotá (Sisbén groups A, B and C). This can have
       (16 percent). Only 13 percent of work trips made         major implications for access to better job
       by women involve a motorbike, private motor              opportunities and to health, education and other
       vehicle or bicycle.                                      essential services, given that low-income groups
                                                                rely heavily on public transportation for their trips.
       By contrast, men use the SITP for only 35
       percent of their work trips, opting instead to           The impact of price changes on SITP usage takes
       travel by motorbike, private motor vehicle or            time to materialize. This means that users require
       bicycle for 50 percent of such trips. Furthermore,       time to adjust their level of demand for public
       18 percent of men who reported “working” as              transportation and other goods and services,
       their main occupation (versus 1 percent of               which can in turn have an impact on multiple
       women) are drivers for Uber, a taxi service, or a        indicators of well-being (e.g., choosing an
       transport or courier company. This may imply             alternative means of transportation, changing
       that they have greater access to alternative             household consumption, adjusting where they
       modes of transportation.                                 work). It is necessary to wait a while before
                                                                measuring the final impacts of these changes to
PUBLIC POLICY IMPLICATIONS                                      better understand how these groups will be
                                                                impacted over the long term.
In Bogotá and cities with similar conditions,
governments face major policy challenges when                   There is significant heterogeneity by gender in
designing their public transport systems. This relates in       terms of the sensitivity of public transport use to
                                                                fare changes:
¹⁶ Based on baseline data collected in 2022.



                                                                                                                    7
      Men are much more sensitive to price changes.                                        These results highlight the importance of
      One reason may be because they use more                                              considering policies that will reduce socioeconomic
      modes of transportation than women, that is,                                         and gender gaps in urban mobility patterns and
      they have more alternatives to get around, and                                       mitigate some of the possible consequences that
      are therefore able to adjust their mobility                                          may arise in terms of access to economic and social
      patterns more easily by switching between                                            opportunities. In a future analysis, we will evaluate
      different modes of transportation.                                                   the impact of these fare changes on other well-
                                                                                           being indicators not confined to public transport
      The difference between the price sensitivity of
                                                                                           use. Such an analysis will help us better understand
      men and women does not mean that the impact
                                                                                           the differences in SITP use between men and
      is minor for women. It may mean, for example,                                        women, the factors that explain these differences,
      that the effect of the price change is reflected in                                  and the policy options that can help improve the
      other indicators of well-being, such as a                                            well-being of these users.
      reduction in disposable income when fares
      increase, since they have less flexibility to adjust
      their SITP usage and may end up expending a
      higher percentage of their income on
      transportation to make the same number of trips.


    TEAM AND FINANCING

    The research team comprises Guadalupe Bedoya, Sveta Milusheva, and Wendy Brau from the World
    Bank’s Development Impact (DIME) department. The extended team includes Leonardo Cañón Rubiano
    and Ellin Ivarsson of the World Bank’s Transport Global Practice. This work was carried out in close
    collaboration with the District Secretariat for Mobility of Bogotá, led by the Undersecretariat for
    Mobility Policy, and Transmilenio S.A., the manager of the SITP. Thomas Escande, David Quiroz Barrios,
    and Maria Camila Ayala supported the research. Soluciones Estratégicas en Información (SEI-
    consultants) collected baseline data in 2022. This project was made possible by UK Aid funding from
    the UK Government, through the i2i and ieConnect programs; the Research Support Budget (RSB) of
    the Development Economics Vice Presidency, and the World Bank’s Transport Global Practice.

REFERENCES
ª Hörcher, D., & Tirachini, A. (2021). “A review of public transport economics.” Economics of transportation, 25, 100196.
ᵇ Guzman, L. A. and Oviedo, D. (2018). Accessibility, affordability and equity: Assessing ‘pro-poor’ public transport subsidies in Bogotá.” Transport Policy (Elsevier),68, 37-51.
c
  Transmilenio S.A. 2023. The SITP – General Information. Last accessed: February 20, 2024
ᵈDecree 004 of 2023 of the Office of the Mayor of Bogotá, D.C.: https://www.alcaldiabogota.gov.co/sisjur/normas/Norma1.jsp?i=132579.
ᵉ Resolution 81469 of 2023 of the District Secretariat of Mobility of Bogotá: https://www.alcaldiabogota.gov.co/sisjur/normas/Norma1.jsp?i=135058.
f
  Banco de la República de Colombia: https://www.banrep.gov.co/es/estadisticas/trm.
ᵍ Office of the Mayor of Bogotá, Mimeo, 2017.
ʰ Bedoya Argüelles, Guadalupe; Brau, Wendy; Canon Rubiano, Leonardo; Ivarsson Molina, Linda Ellin Maria; Sveta Milusheva. Mobility and well-being of vulnerable
population groups in Bogotá and gender gaps in urban mobility (Spanish). Washington, DC World Bank Group.




                              The ieConnect for Impact program links project teams with researchers to
                              develop rigorous and innovative impact evaluations that both substantially
                              improve the evidence-base for policy making and induce global shifts in transport
                              policy. The ieConnect program is a collaboration between the World Bank’s
                              Development Impact Department (DIME) and the Transport Global Practice. This
program is part of the Impact Evaluation to Development Impact (i2i) multi-donor trust fund and is supported
by the UKAID’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the European Union (EU).