When it comes to public transportation, Cartago, the former capital city of Costa Rica, is the most ecologically conscious section of the Greater San Jose Metropolitan Area (Spanish initials: GAM). Thanks to the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Cartago is now a pioneer in the use of bicycles as a smart public transportation option. This past October 15^th, the fourth phase of the BicipubliCartago, a plan to encourage public bike rentals, was inaugurated thanks to the kind support of the Dutch Embassy.

When Ticos think of the Netherlands, they mostly remember that their Men’s National Football Team got lucky when they knocked La Sele off the 2014 FIFA World Cup quarter finals in Brazil. Notwithstanding this part of football history, Costa Rica and the Kingdom of the Netherlands enjoy good diplomatic relations, and Ticos have much to learn about the nice Dutch people, particularly in the realm of public transportation.

The Netherlands is a small country that imposes heavy taxation on fossil fuels and thus have the most expensive gasoline and diesel prices in the world. As a result, the Dutch are known to be the friendliest when it comes to developing bicycle culture, which started in the early 1970s after a string of fatal road vehicle accidents involving children. The oil crisis helped to cement the Dutch philosophy towards biking as a form of public transportation that is safe, healthy and ecologically friendly.

Longtime readers of The Costa Rica Star will remember that we have covered the inauguration of a ciclovía in Cartago. This is a bicycle lane that is based on the fietstraat and woonerven Dutch concepts. Another concept borrowed from the Dutch by the Municipality of Cartago is that of shared public bikes; to this end, the current pilot project consists of three bike rental spots to benefit students. The bikes and the rental stations, which are painted oranje in honor of one of the national colors of the Netherlands, can be found at the Main Train Station, at the CUC and at the TEC.

Once again, we thank the nice Dutch people for their noble international cooperation; however, this does not change the fact that when our national football teams meet again in the future, the match will be decided by means of a victory from La Sele instead of by penalty kicks.