The auto-colectivo: innovating mobility technology from below (Buenos Aires, 1928-1938)

DHAN ZUNINO SINGH

Filadelfia

Congreso; SPINOFFS OF MOBILITY: Technology, Risk & Innovation; 2014

T2M y Universidad de Drexel

On the eve of the construction of Buenos Aires' second underground line in 1928, by far the most comfortable, safest and fastest symbol of modern transport, a new form of public transport burst onto the scene "from below": the auto-colectivo. On September 24th of that year, taxi drivers decided, without municipal authorization, to use their vehicles to transport up to five passengers for a few cents following the same routes as tramways and buses. The public rapidly accepted this hybridized and unregulated service. The popular press celebrated its emergence as a local invention that served suburban neighbours and superseded the tram and bus services that had lost popularity. Moreover, the auto-colectivo became a political symbol: a national and popular invention that eroded the tramway monopoly controlled by the British. Tramway companies considered it illegal and unsafe and by 1938, the State started controlling it severely through the creation of a transport corporation. The auto-coletivo could be illegal/non-regulated but at the same time fast and comfortable. The later was, in fact, a matter of perception: for some, to travel seated in a car was much more comfortable than a bus or tram; for others: to squeeze into the car was annoying. Regarding safety, the underground railway remained the safest as all surface transport (bus, tramway, colectivo) was exposed to traffic perils. In one decade the auto-colectivo changed its form: the car was enlarged and then acquired the form of a mini-bus, to finally become a typical bus. Its transformation was strongly linked to the early development of the metallurgic car industry in Argentina and particularly to the skills of coachbuilders. Regulations imposed by authorities also shaped this new transport. Today, colectivos have become a virtual monopoly of Buenos Aires public transport and, along with the car, one of the main causes of congestion, accidents and pollution. Undoubtedly, the auto-colectivo's success was possible in the context of the rising of car culture and the influence of American capital in Argentina that competed against a British dominion that was close to decay. Such success is also explained by the technical characteristics of the car, essentially: versatility. Historicizing technological transformations from a cultural perspective, this paper seeks to explain how the attributes of modern transport (speed, comfort, safety) were re-signified by the auto-colectivo. It argues that the controversies that this mode of transport brought up were characteristic of a system that spontaneously emerged from below, the unexpected consequences of technological innovations, and the creativity of self-organization and risk-management.