Intersectoral Buses
Could Be Running In A
Month
The "interlínea" buses -
the yellow buses that
were to have started
running several months
back, transporting
passengers between
communities and stalled
by a problem in the bid
awarding process - may
be running in a month,
saig the viceministra de
Transportes, Viviana
Martín.
Martín explained that
permission will be
granted to some of the
participants of the new
tender the Ministerio de
Obras Públicas y
Transportes (MOPT) will
be holding, justifying
the move as a matter of
public interest.
The vice-minister added
that for the last
several weeks her
officials have been
working, together with a
group of lawyers, a
"bullet proof" process,
to meet the requirements
set out by the Tribunal
Administrativo de
Transportes, the court
that cancelled the first
bid process last June.
Next week some 40
companies are expected
to take part in the bid
process that will be
held by the Consejo de
Transporte Público.
The Consorcio MPT S.A,
who was awarded the
first bid, brings
together 36 of the
bidders, and according
to the vice-minister,
has invited the rest of
the bidders to come
together and present one
single bid.
Vice-minister Martín
added that the
govenrment will not wait
for the Sala IV
(Constitutional Court)
to resolve the appeal of
the decision of the
Tribunal.
"This is our plan B. We
cannot depend on the
Sala IV, there is a lot
of uncertainty. They
could take months to
resolve the matter and
this is a matter of
national urgency", said
Martín.
The routes would connect
the communities of
Desamparados-Moravia;
Hatillo-Guadalupe;
Guadalupe-La Uruca;
Moravia-La Valencia;
Escazú-Alajuelita;
Escazú-hospital México y
Santa Ana-San Antonio de
Belén-La Valencia.
The service would
provide an alternative
to the current system of
bus users having to go
into San José to
transfer. The interlínea
route would eliminate
the transfer and reduce
the number of buses
having to enter the
downtown area, a cause
of much of the daily
traffic congestion.
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