January 30, 2023. With the implementation of the Strategic Public Transportation System (SETP), made up of 130 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses, the Valledupar Integrated Transportation System (SIVA) becomes a commitment of the department of Cesar as an energy power in Colombia. This was ratified by different social, business, political and national government officials, in the forum developed by the Colombian Natural Gas Association (Naturgas), at the University of the Andean Area.
“The decision that Valledupar made to implement a system with natural gas buses is an example of leading sustainable mobility, the true energy transition and the decarbonization of the sector in Colombia. What was led before by the great capitals of the country such as Bogotá, Medellín, Cali and Cartagena is also now being led by Valledupar,” said the President of Naturgas, Luz Stella Murgas.
For her part, Sandra Ángel Almario, Coordinator of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Unit of the Ministry of Transportation, assured that Valledupar has been an example for the entire country, because, in addition to being the first intermediate city to start the SETP, which “is a pride that we have from the Ministry of Transport”, also “has been the only city in the country that has taken advantage of the resources of the co-financing agreement to acquire the bus fleet”.
Meanwhile, the Governor of Cesar, Andrés Meza, specified that resources have been contributed to SIVA to guarantee this system that aims at the continuity of the diversification of the department’s economy, through its capital that projects a hopeful future.
Mayor Mello Castro González highlighted that the public transport system operates with an environmentally friendly fuel, which reduces CO2 emissions by 99%, making it sustainable. “We consolidated the SETP. Many years passed before the city had a fleet of 130 modern buses, with air conditioning and platforms for people with disabilities. But today we are a model in the country, a sustainable system that thinks about the health of the community”, he indicated.
In this way, Valledupar joins the four capitals of the country that use natural gas vehicles: Cartagena, Bogotá, Cali, Medellín.
