MOPT Will Issue
Temporary Permits To Get
Intersectoral Buses
Running
The Ministerio de Obras
Públicas y Transportes
(MOPT) is confident that
it will have the "interlínea"
buses running next
month, on a temporary
basis at least, as it
removed the appea
presented to the
Tribunal Administrativo
de Transportes and the
Sala Constitucional.
The MOPT minister, Karla
González, explained that
the government has
decided to abibe the
court ruling and begin a
new bid process for the
intersectoral bus line.
The Tribunal and Sala
cancelled the awarding
of the interlínea
contract awared in June
after it found
improprieties in the bid
process after one of the
losers made an appeal.
The viceministra de
Transportes, Viviana
Martín, added that the
process will see the
buses running as early
as October. While the
Consejo de Transporte
Público (CTP) follows
through on the process,
Martín said that the
MOPT will issue
temporary permits.
Martín added that the
temporary permits will
be in place until a bid
or bids is awarded and
no operators will have
an advatange.
"There are no
contractors. There are
no signed contractors
and although there are
new buses, we never
asked anyone to buy new
buses, not even to sign
a contract; that
requirement is demanded
six months after the
awarding of the bid",
said ministra González.
The minister added that
all she wants is that
intersectoral buses
start operating, as it
is in the public
interest.
José Roberto Herrera,
general manager of the
MPT consortium that was
awarded the bid and
cancelled by the
Tribunal said that in
the coming days his
group would be detailed
their plans and have no
problems with a new bid
process. Herrera added
that his comments were
limited due to the
eventual legal process
that the consortium will
be launching.
María Elena Fonseca, the
legal representative for
the Barrantes Araya
company, the bus
operators who came out
on the losing end of the
bid and filed the appeal
that led to the
cancellation of the
service, also preferred
not to make any
statments regarding the
controversy.
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