Transantiago: A tale of two cities

The Chilean government decided to modernize Santiago's entire public transport system, integrating the underground and the private bus networks based on a structure of trunk and feeder services, and a fare-payment by touchless smart card. The new, integrated transit system, known as Transantiago, very soon ran into serious problems that alienated much of its user base and significantly lowered the government's approval ratings. This paper recounts how Transantiago was planned and designed and then discusses its evolution after implementation. It concludes with suggestions for the Transantiago authorities and lessons to be learned from this traumatic process.