Many cities around the world now participate in annual car-free days to raise civic awareness of the effect of automobiles in the city and to help identify ways for urban areas to thrive without cars. In South America, Bogotá, Colombia has become well known for its annual Car Free Day. The streets of Bogotá, Colombia were first closed to personal motor vehicles from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM on February 24, 2000. A $25 fine encourages its seven million residents to use skates and bicycles as the only wheeled vehicles for the day. Nearly 200 miles of streets, alleys and other pathways are reserved for bicycles and pedestrians. The other streets are left open to buses, shared taxis and emergency vehicles. With fewer cars, air quality has been shown to improve.