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BUENOS AIRES - PUBLIC TRANSPORT |
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"Transportation and infrastructures
Street network
Buenos Aires is based on a rectangular grid pattern, save for natural barriers or the relatively rare developments explicitly designed otherwise (notably, the neighbourhood of Parque Chas). The rectangular grid provides for square blocks named manzanas, with a length of roughly 110 meters. Pedestrian zones in the city centre are partially car-free and always bustling, access provided by bus and the Metro (subte) Line C. Buenos Aires, for the most part, is a very walkable city and the majority of residents in Buenos Aires use public transport.
Two diagonal avenues in the city centre alleviate traffic and provide better access to Plaza de Mayo. Most avenues running into and out of the city centre are one-way and feature six or more lanes, with computer-controlled green waves that ensure fast traffic outside of peak times.
Main avenues of the city include the 140-metre (459 ft)-wide 9 de Julio Avenue, the over-35 km (22 mi)-long Rivadavia Avenue, and Corrientes Avenue, the main thoroughfare of culture and entertainment.
In the 1940s and 1950s, the Avenida General Paz beltway that surrounds the city along its border with Buenos Aires Province and freeways leading to the new international airport and to the northern suburbs heralded a new era in Buenos Aires traffic. Encouraged by pro-automaker policies pursued towards the end of Pres. Perón's term (1955) and during Pres. Arturo Frondizi's term (1958-62) in particular, auto sales nationally leapt from an average of 30,000 (during the 1920s through the '50s) to about 250,000 in the 1970s and over 560,000 in 2008 today, 3.5 million vehicles (nearly one-fifth of Argentina's total) are registered in Buenos Aires.
Toll motorways opened in the late 1970s by then-mayor Osvaldo Cacciatore provided fast access to the city centre and are today used by over a million vehicles, daily. Cacciatore likewise had financial district streets (roughly one square kilometer in area) closed to private cars during daytime. Most major avenues are, however, gridlocked at peak hours. Following the economic mini-boom of the 1990s, record numbers started commuting by car and congestion increased, as did the time-honored Argentine custom of taking weekends off in the countryside.
Buses
There are over 150 city bus lines called Colectivos, each one managed by an individual company which makes them very effective as they compete with each other and attracts exceptionally high use with virtually no public financial support, their frequency makes them equal to the underground systems of other cities, but on wheels, however, buses cover a far wider area than the underground system. Colectivos in Buenos Aires do not have a fixed timetable, but run from 4 to several per hour, depending on the bus line and time of the day. With very cheap tickets and extensive routes, usually no further than four blocks from commuters' residences, the colectivo is by far the preferred mode of transport around the city. Bus line operators must comply with city regulations on security and pollution control.
Taxi
A fleet of 40,000 black-and-yellow taxis ply the streets at all hours. License controls are not enforced rigorously. There have been numerous reports of organized crime controlling the access of taxis to the city airports and other major destinations . Radio-link companies provide reliable and safe service; many such companies provide incentives for frequent users. Low-fare limo services, known as remises, have become popular in recent years.
Metro
The Buenos Aires Metro (locally known as subte, from "subterráneo" meaning underground or metro) is a high yield system providing access to various parts of the city. Opened in 1913, it is the oldest underground system in the Southern Hemisphere and in the Spanish-speaking world. The system has six lines, named by letters (A to E, and H) There are 74 stations, and 52.3 km (32.50 mi) of track. An expansion program is underway to extend existing lines into the outer neighborhoods and add a new north-south line. Track length is expected to reach 89 km (55 mi) by the year 2011.
Daily ridership is 1.3 million and on the increase. Fares are cheap and are in fact cheaper than the city buses. While tokens have been used in the past, at present, riders purchase either single-use or multi-use cards (called SubtePass) with a magnetic strip or use Contactless cards called SubteCard which can be rechargeable with cash or linked to a bank account for automatic debit.
The Buenos Aires Metro has six lines which also has links to the metropolitan train network.
* Line A - Light Blue: Subte Line A is the oldest line of the Buenos Aires Metro. This historical line runs from Plaza de Mayo to Primera Junta, and is scheduled to be extended towards Nazca St.
* Line B - Red: Line B of the Buenos Aires Metro runs from Leandro N. Alem Station to Los Incas (projected to Villa Urquiza).
* Line C - Blue: Line C of the Buenos Aires Metro runs from Retiro to Constitución terminus, opened on 9 November 1934, 4.4 km (2.73 mi).
* Line D - Green: Subte Line D of the Buenos Aires Metro runs from Catedral to Congreso de Tucumán. The D Line opened on 3 June 1937 and has been expanded to the north several times. The line is currently 10.41 km (6.47 mi) long and runs approximately parallel to the Buenos Aires coastline.
* Line E - Purple: Subte Line E runs from Bolivar Station to Plaza de los Virreyes, opened on 20 June 1944, currently with 9.2 km (5.72 mi).
* Line H - Yellow: Line H runs from Once terminus to Caseros. It is also planned to run from Retiro to Nueva Pompeya once the remaining sections are constructed.
Current Extensions
At Line A four new stations after Primera Junta are under construction, being Nazca the new future terminal while newer metro carriages are slowly being introduced to handle the increased demand. On Line B Since 2004, work began to expand the line to Villa Ortúzar and Villa Urquiza. On Line H further extensions are planned to run from Retiro to Nueva Pompeya once constructed. It will connect the Southern part of the city with the North, thus improving the flow to the centre of the city, and will be approximately 11 km (7 mi) long from end to end. Line H will provide cross-connections with almost all the other lines.
New Metro lines
New underground lines are planned and were presented by the Government of the City of Buenos Aires on May 26 of 2007. There are currently three lines planned:
Line F will join Constitución Station with Plaza Italia and will have an extension of 7.6 km (4.72 mi). It will be transverse-radially, according to the section, with strong integration with the rest of the network.
Line G will connect the Retiro Station with the Cid Campeador and will have an extension of 7.6 km (4.72 mi). It will be radial to communicate the axes of high density residential and commercial areas, and will bring the underground to the northwest district of the city.
Line I will run from Emilio Mitre Line A Station up to Plaza Italia and will have an extension of 7.3 km (4.54 mi). It will be the most external transverse line of the network and will communicate the neighborhoods of the north, center and south of the city and will integrate to the radial lines far from the city centre.
Tram system
Buenos Aires had an extensive street railway (tram) system with over 857 km (533 mi) of track, which was dismantled during the 1960s in favor of bus transportation and is now in the stages of a slow comeback. The PreMetro or Line E2 is a 7.4 km (5 mi) light rail line that connects with the Buenos Aires Metro Line E, at Plaza de los Virreyes station and runs to General Savio and Centro Cívico and is operated by Metrovías. The official inauguration took place on 27 August 1987. The cost of building and fitting out the line was also impressive, amounting to a mere USD 5.4 million. An additional USD 4.6 million was allocated to the acquisition of a fleet of 25 light rail vehicles.
A new 2 km (1.24 mi) tramway (LRT), Tranvía del Este runs across the Puerto Madero district. Extensions planned will link the Retiro and La Boca terminal train stations. Other routes are being studied. A Heritage streetcar maintained by tram fans operates on weekends, near the Primera Junta line A metro station in the Caballito neighbourhood.
Commuter rail
The Buenos Aires commuter network system is very extensive. Every day more than 1.3 million people commute to the Argentine capital for work and other business. These suburban trains operate between 4 am and 1 am. The Buenos Aires Railway system also connects the city with long distance rail to Rosario and Córdoba among other metropolitan areas. The three principal stations for both long-distance and local passenger services are located in Buenos Aires city centre Plaza Constitución, Retiro and Once de Septiembre.
The Buenos Aires commuter rail system has seven lines:
* Belgrano Norte Line
* Belgrano Sur Line
* Roca Line
* San Martin Line
* Sarmiento Line
* Mitre Line
* Línea Urquiza (Buenos Aires)
High speed rail
A new high-speed rail line between Buenos Aires, Rosario and Córdoba, with speeds up to 320 km/h is planned.
Ferry
Buenos Aires is also served by a ferry system operated by the company Buquebus that connects the port of Buenos Aires with the main cities of Uruguay, (Colonia del Sacramento, Montevideo and Punta del Este). More than 2.2 million people per year commute between Argentina and Uruguay with Buquebus."
This articol is release from GNU Free Documentation License. It use material from Wikipedia voices: "Buenos Aires".
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