Brilio.net/en - La Paz, the Bolivias capital city, has the longest cable car in the world. Far above the city, lies a 6 miles long cable that transport people in 427 cars all day, stopping at 11 stations, between La Paz and the neighbouring city of El Alto. Traveling at a height of 13,500 feet, the urban cable car is also the highest commuting system in the world.
President Evo Morales inaugurated the third line of Mi Telefrico, or in English My Cable Car, on December 4, 2014. The lines take the colours of Bolivian flag, which are Red, Yellow and Green. The commuting system transports 100,000 passengers per day, which is one-fifth of the commuters between La Paz and El Alto. This is admittedly the most efficient transport and offers a scenic view of the city below, and only costs 3 bolivianos (43) and take less than 20 minutes across the cities.
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The cable system was constructed by an Austrian technical firm Doppelmayr, while the USD 235 million project cost was funded entirely by Bolivian government. Most of the construction workforce, engineers and technicians are Bolivian, whom are also trained to operate the system.
In his speech Morales described the telefrico as a showpiece of Bolivias modernization, after the nine years of economic prosperity and political stability under his MAS (Movement Towards Socialism) government.
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It is also being touted as a symbol of integration, breaking down social, economic, and geographic barriers by connecting distant neighborhoods of indigenous migrants to the citys commercial center, while opening up opportunities for tourism and investment flows to El Alto. As a political project, the telefrico epitomizes the campaign themes of progress, development, technological advancement, and national unity that propelled Morales and the MAS to an overwhelming victory last October, as posted at nacla.org.
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Another USD 450,000 is reserved for 5 more telefrico lines project that started in 2015. Besides the Mi Telefrico, Bolivia has other transportation systems such as municipal bus PumaKatari was first launched with 3 routes and 61 buses until 2014, with 8 routes and 133 buses added in the past two years.
Clearly the governments investment in the mass public transit system didnt go in vain. While the revenues of hydrocarbons resources for major national and local projects help with the nations income, the new cable cars and buses have made La Paz one of the seven most amazing cities in the world.