With interviews, focus groups and surveys, the Ecuadorian city uses substantiated information for its sustainable mobility planning.
Ambato, Ecuador 2 August 2021 - From Monday 12 July to Friday 16 July, the kick-off mission for the development of Ambato's Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) was carried out, which focused on a series of roundtables, interviews and surveys with key stakeholders to generate an articulated work around transport and mobility planning in the Ecuadorian city based on supported information.
This is part of the Collection Phase of the project “Update of the Transport and Mobility Master Plan of Ambato”, which is part of the EUROCLIMA+ programme financed by the European Union and implemented by the German Technical Cooperation GIZ. This initiative seeks to incorporate mobility actions with integrated urban planning, which will include multimodal measures and non-motorised transport modes, among others.
During the kick-off mission, meetings were held with Carlos Guerrero, Director of Transit, Land Transport and Road Safety (DTTTSV) of the Municipality of Ambato and Maria Victoria Chiriboga, Project Manager of GIZ Ecuador for the EUROCLIMA+ programme.
Likewise, the work programme, objectives and main activities of the Ambato SUMP were presented to the Technical Committee of the project, made up of the Secretariat of Strategic Management, the Directorates of Environmental Management, Territorial Management, Planning, Participation, Communication and the DTTTSV of the Municipality of Ambato.
With a total global amount of 500,000 euros, the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) of Ambato will seek to meet the mobility needs of all population groups in a sustainable manner and will curb excessive growth in the use of private vehicles.
Currently, Ambato is the only city in Ecuador developing this type of plan, which is the main mobility planning instrument in European cities. The Ambato SUMP will be articulated with the National Policy for Sustainable Urban Mobility of Ecuador, which is also developed in the framework of the EUROCLIMA+ programme.
Interviews with key stakeholders
On Wednesday 14 July, interviews were held to address different approaches to be included in the SUMP, such as freight transport, inter-cantonal transport, mobility of rural sectors and indigenous population, as well as the commercial and logistical dynamics of the city.
It is worth noting that the Ambato wholesale market not only supplies the canton, but also other cities of the Ecuadorian coast and highlands. For this reason, the flow of food vehicles is very important for the mobility of the city. For this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with the Director of Public Services and the management of the Ambato Wholesale Market.
For their part, the interviews provided experiences regarding the needs of the indigenous population and rural sectors in Ambato, especially the challenges faced by indigenous women in their daily activities.
In addition, an interview was held with the Chamber of Commerce of Ambato and the Association of Chambers, a space in which the commercial and logistical dynamics of the city were discussed. In addition, some research and mobility proposals to facilitate economic activities in the canton were presented.
The series of interviews also included the Ambato Police to integrate security issues into the city's mobility systems; the Union of Urban Transport Cooperatives to gather the views of Ambato's transport operators; and representatives of social actors from neighbourhoods, the Union of Taxi Transport Cooperatives and the National Council on Disabilities.
Focal groups and surveys
Starting on Tuesday 13 July, focus groups began to be held with the following population groups to find out about the dynamics and perceptions of mobility:
- General population: Men and women 18 to 55 years of age.
- Public transport: Public transport operators, business and trade actors and public transport users.
- Rurality: Rural farming and indigenous communities.
- Differential approach: older adults, children and people with disabilities.
On the other hand, in the following weeks, surveys of households and vehicles on the road began to determine the modes of transport used, origin and destination of trips, trip purposes, mobility characteristics according to gender and priority groups.
About EUROCLIMA+
EUROCLIMA+ is a programme funded by the European Union and co-financed by the German Federal Government through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as well as by the governments of France and Spain. Its objective is to reduce the impact of climate change and its effects in 18 Latin American and Caribbean countries by promoting climate change mitigation and adaptation, resilience and investment. The Programme is implemented under the synergistic work of seven agencies: the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the French Development Agency (AFD), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Expertise France (EF), the International and Ibero-America Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), and the UN Environment Programme.
For more information:
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