Mi Teleférico (, English: My Cable Car), also known as Teleférico La Paz–El Alto (La Paz–El Alto Cable Car), is an aerial cable car urban transit system serving the La Paz–El Alto metropolitan area in Bolivia. As of October 2019, the system consists of 26 stations (36 if transfer stations are counted separately per line) along ten lines: Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Orange, White, Sky Blue, Purple, Brown, and Silver. Further lines and extensions are in planning or construction. The system is the longest aerial cable car system in the world.
Based on its master plan, the completed system, which is being built by the Doppelmayr Garaventa Group, is intended to reach a length of with 11 lines and 30 stations. While other urban transit cable cars like Medellín's Metrocable complement existing rapid transit systems, Mi Teleférico is the first system to use cable cars as the backbone of the urban transit network. In 2018, Mi Teleférico won a Latam Smart City Award in the category of "Sustainable urban development and mobility".
Mi Teleférico was planned in order to address a number of problems, including a precarious public transit system that could not cope with growing user demands, the high cost in time and money of traveling between La Paz and El Alto, chaotic traffic with its subsequent environmental and noise pollution, and a growing demand for gasoline and diesel fuel, which are subsidized by the state. The Red, Yellow, and Purple lines connect the neighboring cities of La Paz and El Alto, which are separated by a steep slope about tall, and which were previously only connected by winding, congested roads.
History Background The neighboring cities of El Alto and La Paz are the second and third most populous cities in Bolivia. Despite their proximity, travel between the two has always been a challenge, due to a difference in elevation of about . La Paz, the administrative center of Bolivia, is located in a canyon on the Choqueyapu River, while El Alto, a poorer but growing city with a majority indigenous population, is located above it on the Altiplano plateau. Prior to the construction of the cable car, travel between La Paz and El Alto was limited to heavily crowded, winding streets, and the only public transit consisted of buses and minibuses that often got stuck in traffic. In order to alleviate this situation, the idea of connecting the two cities with a cable car has been proposed several times since the 1970s.
In the 1970s, a team planned an aerial cable car route connecting the neighborhoods of La Ceja in El Alto and La Florida in La Paz.
In 1990, a feasibility study was undertaken for a cable car between La Ceja in El Alto and the Plaza de San Francisco in La Paz. The most controversial aspects of the plan were the fare, the low passenger capacity, and ultimately the proximity to the Basilica of San Francisco. During the 1991 municipal elections, the Conciencia de Patria (CONDEPA) party candidate argued against a cable car, claiming it would cost minibus drivers their livelihoods and impact privacy.
In the 1993 municipal elections, mayoral candidate Mónica Medina, also of the CONDEPA party, made aerial transit one of her campaign promises, modifying the original idea of a single line into a system of interconnected cable car lines with a hub on Lainkakota hill.
In 2003, the project returned to the table, but details such as tower placement stalled the work. The planned San Francisco terminal was moved to the Zapata soccer field near the Higher University of San Andrés, but the idea was still too controversial to move ahead.
In 2011, the Municipal Government of La Paz carried out a study on potential ridership demand, and found that the city handles 1.7 million trips per day, including 350,000 trips between La Paz and El Alto.
Phase One In July 2012, Bolivian President Evo Morales Ayma drafted a bill for the construction of a cable car to connect El Alto with the center and south of La Paz and sent it to the Plurinational Legislative Assembly. Morales called together the mayor of La Paz, Luis Revilla, the mayor of El Alto, Édgar Patana, and the governor of the La Paz Department, César Cocarico, to participate in the project. The project was financed by the country's National Treasury with an internal loan from the Central Bank of Bolivia.
The Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group was awarded a contract to design the cable car system as well as being a general contractor for the project. They were a turnkey contractor for the project and required to train local staff for operations and maintenance.
In December 2012, Law 332 was passed to allow the Ministry of Public Works, Services, and Housing to perform eminent domain for land needed to construct the cable car.
The system's Phase One consisted of the Red Line (Línea Roja), Yellow Line (Línea Amarilla), and Green Line (Línea Verde), which are also the colors of the Bolivian flag. Phase One was inaugurated and began operation on 30 May 2014.
Phase Two
On 1 July 2014, Evo Morales announced five new interconnected lines to be built in the coming years. On 26 January 2015, Law 652 was passed, permitting construction of Phase Two and increasing the number of new lines to six and committing US $450 million to the project. A seventh line was announced in February 2016, and an eighth was announced in July 2016. Phase Two extended the system by over . On 13 July 2017, it was announced that the cost of Phase 2 would be increased to US $506 million.
Phase Two began operation in 2017 with the inauguration of the Blue Line (Línea Azul) on 3 March 2017, followed by the Orange Line (Línea Naranja) on 29 September 2017. On 24 March 2018, the White Line (Línea Blanca) and the first section of the Sky Blue Line (Línea Celeste) were opened. The second and final section of the Sky Blue Line was opened on 14 July 2018. The remaining five lines will be the Purple Line (Línea Morada), the Brown Line (Línea Café), the Silver Line (Línea Plateada), and the Gold Line (Línea Dorada).
The Purple Line (Línea Morada) opened on 28 September 2018, followed by the Silver Line (Línea Plateada) on 9 March 2019.
Other cities Oruro Mi Teleférico contributed to the construction of the Teleférico Turístico "Virgen del Socavón" (Our Lady of the Mines Tourist Cable Car) in Oruro, Bolivia. The cable car connects the city center to the Virgen del Socavón statue and shrine on nearby Santa Bárbara hill, which plays an important role in the city's carnaval celebrations. The cable car, which opened on 7 February 2018, consists of a single line with two stations and 16 cars. It has a capacity of 1000 passengers per hour, and a one-way trip takes approximately 3 minutes. The project was originally due to open in November 2016, but it suffered repeated delays until Mi Teleférico took over construction work in 2017.
Sucre , the Empresa Estatal de Transporte por Cable "Mi Teleférico" was in the process of planning a cable car system for the city of Sucre (Sucre Cable Car, Teleférico para Sucre).
Impact The cable car system has benefited the region by significantly reducing the time spent on transportation. It has caused a shift to public transportation and increased employment opportunities for the region. A journey from El Alto to the center of La Paz is about three times faster on the Teleférico compared to taking a bus or taxi.
Lines Lines in operation The Mi Teleférico system consists of monocable aerial cable car lines. Most lines have a maximum capacity of 3000 passengers per hour, while the Sky Blue Line has a capacity of 4000 passengers per hour. The network has a total of seven lines, with 443 cars on the Red, Green, and Yellow Lines, 208 on the Blue Line, 127 on the Orange Line, 131 on the White Line, and 155 on the Sky Blue Line. Each car seats 10 passengers. Cars depart every 12 seconds, and the network is open 17 hours a day.
According to Mi Teleférico, the Red, Yellow, and Green Lines combined transport between 80,000 and 90,000 passengers per day. Of these, the Yellow and Red Lines, the two lines that link La Paz and El Alto, account for some 70,000 rides. During its opening week, the Blue Line moved 41,000 passengers in one day, and it has increased ridership on the Red Line by 15%.
Line Terminus stations Length Travel time Stations Cabins Capacity Speed Towers Opened Red Line 16 de Julio/Jach'a Qhathu – Estación Central/Taypi Uta 10 min 3 109 3000 pphpd 5 m/s 19 30 May 2014 Yellow Line Mirador/Qhana Pata – Chuqui Apu/Libertador 13.5 min 4 169 3000 pphpd 5 m/s 31 15 September 2014 Green Line Chuqui Apu/Libertador – Irpawi/Irpavi 16.6 min 4 165 3000 pphpd 5 m/s 27 4 December 2014 Blue Line Rio Seco/Waña Jawira – 16 de Julio/Jach'a Qhathu 17 min 5 208 3000 pphpd 5 m/s 38 3 March 2017 Orange Line Estación Central/Taypi Uta – Héroes de la Revolución/Villarroel 10 min 4 127 3000 pphpd 5 m/s 26 29 September 2017 White Line Plaza Villarroel – San Jorge 13.1 min 4 131 3000 pphpd 5 m/s 26 24 March 2018 Sky Blue Line El Prado – Chuqui Apu/Libertador 11.8 min 4 155 4000 pphpd 6 m/s 26 Section 1: 24 March 2018Complete Line: 14 July 2018 Purple Line 6 de Marzo – San Jose 16.2 min 3 190 4000 pphpd 6 m/s 34 28 September 2018 Brown Line Monumento Busch – Las Villas 3.8 min 2 27 2000 pphpd 5 m/s 7 20 December 2018 Silver Line 16 de Julio/Jach'a Qhathu – Mirador/Qhana Pata 11.7 min 3 117 3000 pphpd 5 m/s 21 9 March 2019
Future lines Line Terminus stations Length Travel time Stations Cabins Capacity Speed Towers Plannedopening Gold Line Irpawi/Irpavi – Cota Cota 7.6 min 3 106 3000 pphpd 5 m/s 2020
Stations
All stations have both a Spanish name and an Aymara name.
Red Line (Línea Roja) Aymara name Spanish name Connections City Notes Taypi Uta Estación Central Orange Line La Paz former central railway station Ajayuni Cementerio La Paz main cemetery Jach'a Qhathu 16 de julio Blue and Silver Lines El Alto
Yellow Line (Línea Amarilla) Aymara name Spanish name Connections City Notes Chuqui Apu Libertador Green and Sky Blue Lines La Paz Alternative spelling used in-station: Chuqi Apu Suphu Kachi Sopocachi La Paz Quta Uma Buenos Aires La Paz Qhana Pata Mirador Silver Line El Alto
Green Line (Línea Verde) Aymara name Spanish name Connections City Notes Irpawi Irpavi Gold Line (2020) La Paz Aynacha Obrajes Obrajes La Paz a free funicular provides access from Calle 17 to the station Pata Obrajes Alto Obrajes La Paz Chuqui Apu Libertador Yellow and Sky Blue Lines La Paz
Blue Line (Línea Azul) Aymara name Spanish name Connections City Notes Jach'a Qhathu 16 de julio Red and Silver Lines El Alto Qhana Thaki Plaza Libertad El Alto Suma Qamaña Plaza La Paz El Alto Yatina Uta UPEA El Alto Universidad Pública de El Alto Waña Jawira Río Seco El Alto
Orange Line (Línea Naranja) Aymara name Spanish name Connections City Notes Taypi Uta Estación Central Red Line La Paz former central railway station Riosinho Pampa Armentia La Paz Apachita Periférica La Paz Inalmama Plaza Villarroel White Line La Paz underground station
White Line (Línea Blanca) Aymara name Spanish name Connections City Notes Jalsuri San Jorge Sky Blue Line La Paz Kimsachata Triangular La Paz Qhuirwa Uma Monumento a Busch Brown Line La Paz Inalmama Plaza Villarroel Orange Line La Paz underground station
Sky Blue Line (Línea Celeste) Aymara name Spanish name Connections City Notes Chuqui Apu Libertador Yellow and Green Lines La Paz Chukiya Marka Avenida Poeta White Line La Paz Layqa Quta Teatro al Aire Libre La Paz Chukiya Marka Prado La Paz
Purple Line (Línea Morada) Aymara name Spanish name Connections City Notes Utjawi San José La Paz Tiquira Faro Murillo Silver Line El Alto Jach'a Thaki Avenida 6 de Marzo El Alto
Brown Line (Línea Café) Aymara name Spanish name Connections City Notes Qhuirwa Uma Monumento a Busch White Line La Paz Palla Thaki Las Villas La Paz
Silver Line (Línea Plateada)