Medellin, Metrocable

An inspiring strategy canvas example in the public sector.

Twenty years ago, Colombia’s second-largest city, Medellin, had one of the highest murder rates in the world. Dubbed ‘Murder Capital of the World’, 16 people were murdered on average a day in 1991. The rampant violence was largely caused by drug traffickers, local gangs, and guerrilla forces.

Fast forward twenty years later. Medellin has created a blue ocean, transforming itself into a model city of innovation. So how did Medellin go from the murder capital of the world to the most innovative city of the world in under 20 years?

It all began in 2003, when mathematics professor, Sergio Fajardo, was elected mayor of Medellin, securing the biggest electoral victory in the city’s history. A new era of change was about to begin focusing on creating a leap in value at low cost, what Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne call “value innovation“.

Among these changes, one stands out: Medellin’s pioneering ‘Metrocable’. Instead of constructing a new railway, Medellin looked across alternative industries and decided to repurpose chairlift technology, conventionally used in ski resorts. Using the existing technology, Medellin built the world’s first urban cable car system dedicated to public transport, at half the cost of a comparable railway system.

Connecting poor neighborhoods on the steep hillsides, Medellin’s transportation system transformed the city rapidly and at low cost. These days, Metrocable carries about 30,000 passengers a day traveling to and from the city center. Ultimately, the city’s innovative public transportation system became one of its most important strategies to reduce poverty and crime.

Medellin’s transit strategy showed the three qualities of a blue ocean strategy – focus, divergence and a compelling tagline.

The “To-Be” value curve shows the city focussed on providing the most frequent, reliable and environmentally friendly ride for residents to easily access the hillside barrios while creating a leap in enjoyment that made the Metrocable system an attraction for tourists in its own right. It diverges from traditional transit systems by eliminating the land footprint between stations and reducing ride comfort relative to trains.

Metrocable line K was built at a cost of $11.4 million USD per kilometre making it substantially cheaper than any form of rail transit. In addition, its operating costs are low because it requires no drivers and has just one central motor unit to maintain.

The tagline “The price of the bus, the convenience of the train, the fun of the amusement park” would succinctly communicate what Metrocable offers the citizens of Medellin. No traditional transit system can match its whimsical ride quality, rapidly delivered at a low price.