On Thursday 5 February, Bogotá will once again ask its citizens to imagine the city differently. For 16 hours, from 5.00 a.m to 9.00 p.m., private cars and motorcycles will largely disappear from the streets as Colombia’s capital marks the 28th edition of its Día Sin Carro y Sin Moto. The annual pause, approved by popular vote in 2000, is less a traffic restriction than a civic experiment — one that Bogotá has been refining for decades.

Unlike many cities that frame “car-free days” as environmental emergencies or symbolic gestures, Bogotá treats the occasion as an exercise in everyday urban life. The message is simple: this is not an exception, but a reminder. For the majority of residents – around 70 per cent, according to city officials – daily mobility already depends on walking, cycling or public transport. On this day, those who normally rely on private vehicles are invited to join them.

The scale of the operation reflects Bogotá’s long-standing commitment to sustainable mobility. Throughout the day, the city’s Integrated Public Transport System (SITP) will operate at full capacity, deploying more than 10,000 buses across trunk, zonal, feeder and dual routes, alongside TransMiCable’s aerial service in the hills of Ciudad Bolívar. Nearly 37,000 taxis will circulate without restriction, while more than 8,000 bicycle-parking spaces at TransMilenio stations will encourage commuters to mix modular mobility.

Cyclists, meanwhile, will have the run of 683 kilometres of dedicated bike lanes, supported by pedestrian infrastructure that stretches across more than 9,500 kilometres of pavements. Additional car-free corridors, overseen by the city’s sports and recreation authority, will open during daylight hours, reinforcing the idea that streets can be social spaces as much as conduits for traffic.

Bogotá’s confidence in pulling off such a city-wide shift did not emerge overnight. The capital is widely regarded as a pioneer of sustainable urban mobility, a reputation rooted in an idea so simple that it has been copied from Paris to Mexico City: the Ciclovía. Every Sunday and public holiday, more than 120 kilometres of major roads are closed to cars, transforming the city into a vast open-air promenade for cyclists, runners and families.

In 2025, Bogotá marked the 50th anniversary of the Ciclovía — a milestone that underscored how deeply the initiative has become embedded in the city’s identity. What began in the 1970s as a modest protest against car dominance has evolved into a weekly ritual, drawing millions of participants and reshaping how residents relate to their streets. Urban planners and mayors from around the world have studied the model, adapting it to their own contexts, but few have matched its scale or longevity.

The Day Without Cars follows the same philosophy, but with a weekday twist. Schools, offices and universities remain open; life goes on. The difference lies in how people get there. During the day, private cars and motorcycles are prohibited from circulating, including vehicles with special “pico y placa solidario” permits, hybrid or gas-powered cars, driving-school vehicles and most media vehicles with yellow plates. Taxis and special transport vehicles with licence plates ending in 7 or 8 are also restricted.

Exceptions apply. Public transport, emergency vehicles, school transport, vehicles for people with disabilities and essential public services continue to operate. Electric and zero-emission vehicles — including motorcycles — are permitted, as are delivery motorcycles linked to courier and food Apps, transport of valuables, funeral vehicles and official vehicles assigned to security, traffic control and infrastructure maintenance.

There is, inevitably, an enforcement side. Drivers who ignore the restrictions face a fine of COP$633,000 pesos and the immobilisation of their vehicle. Yet the city’s tone is notably less punitive than pedagogical. Street-level activities and public messaging emphasise behaviour change over compliance, encouraging residents to see the day as an invitation rather than an imposition.

For those navigating the city, a little foresight helps. Travellers heading to El Dorado International Airport are advised to allow extra time, particularly during the morning and evening rush, as major arteries are repurposed for pedestrians, cyclists and electric-only vehicles. Public transport will run at full capacity, but peak hours on TransMilenio – roughly between 6.00 a.m and 9.00 a.m., and again from late afternoon – can be crowded, making off-peak travel a calmer option.

For one day in February – and every Sunday of the year – Bogotá does more than reduce emissions or noise. It rehearses a version of the city that many places are still struggling to imagine: one where movement is slower, more deliberate and shared, and where the street is not just a means of getting somewhere, but a place worth inhabiting.

The Bogotá mayoralty has declared the tender process for the construction of the capital’s second metro line void after no bids were submitted by the deadline, Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán said on Tuesday, highlighting ongoing challenges facing Colombia’s most ambitious infrastructure project.

Galán said none of the prequalified consortia presented final offers before the cutoff time on Jan. 20, forcing the city to restart the process. He stressed, however, that the decision does not jeopardize the continuation of the project, which is expected to be re-tendered through a new international bidding process beginning in February. “We must inform the public that no proposals were received from the consortia that were prequalified to submit offers,” Galán told a press conference. “This does not mean that Metro Line 2 will not go ahead. Metro Line 2 continues.”

Bogotá’s second metro line, a 15.5-kilometre underground system designed to connect the city’s northern and western districts with the centre, is a key component of efforts to modernize public transport in a city of more than 8 million residents.

The project is expected to include 11 stations, most of them underground, and carry up to 50,000 passengers per hour in each direction.

The Mayor said the new tender would benefit from a more mature technical and financial structure, as well as continued backing from multilateral lenders and Colombia’s national government through existing co-financing agreements. Authorities aim to award the contract in the first quarter of 2027.

The failed bidding process follows a lengthy prequalification phase that began under the previous city administration led by former mayor Claudia López. Four consortia were initially prequalified in August 2023, after which the project moved into the public tender stage in September of that year.

According to Galán, two of those groups were excluded in October 2024 due to conflicts of interest raised by competing bidders. That reduced the field to two consortia, one Chinese and one Spanish.

In October 2025, the Chinese-led consortium withdrew from the process, citing concerns over Colombia’s exchange rate volatility and associated financial risks. This left the Spanish consortium as the sole remaining bidder. That group later requested an extension to the submission deadline, which city authorities declined to grant.

Galán said the Spanish consortium ultimately failed to submit a proposal after one of its key partners, infrastructure firm Acciona, withdrew from the group, rendering the bid unviable. The formal notification of withdrawal was filed on the same day the tender closed.

The City claims to have taken steps to encourage competition, including issuing addenda and extending deadlines, but were ultimately unable to secure a binding offer.

The announcement comes as construction of Bogotá’s first metro line – an elevated system being built by the Chinese consortium China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC) – has reached approximately 70% completion, according to the mayoralty. Line 1 is scheduled to begin operations in 2028 and is seen as a test case for future rail projects in the capital.

Metro Line 2 is expected to cost approximately 34.9 trillion Colombian pesos (USD$8.9 billion) and will be fully automated, according to the Bogotá Metro Company. The line will operate 25 trains, each measuring 140 metres in length, and is projected to add around 800,000 daily trips to the city’s public transport network once operational.

Leonidas Narváez, general manager of the Enpresa Metro de Bogotá (EMB) said the city would launch an expanded global outreach campaign to attract new bidders when the tender reopens. “We will carry out a broad international invitation to firms around the world so that they can once again participate,” Narváez said.

Political reactions to the failed tender were swift. Daniel Briceño, a former city councillor from the  Centro Democrático party, and Senatorial candidate, blamed the López administration for what he described as structural flaws in the project’s design. “This process was left poorly prepared and with serious errors,” Briceño said in a statement.

City councillor Juan David Quintero, meanwhile, attributed the lack of bids in part to global geopolitical tensions, pointing to the trade disputes between the United States and China as a factor influencing risk perceptions among major infrastructure firms.

Galán rejected claims that the project was at risk, saying the revised timeline preserves the city’s broader metro expansion plans. Under the new schedule, authorities expect to receive bids in September 2026, following additional technical and financial adjustments. “We have secured financing, multilateral support and a valid co-financing agreement,” he said. “The project remains on track.”

Bogotá officials said the restart of the tender process was intended to provide greater certainty to potential bidders while safeguarding public resources and long-term project viability.