Buses And Taxis May
Strike On Tuesday
Beginning on Tuesday
many may have to get
used to walking to and
from work as a the
public transportation
union is calling a
strike action that would
effectively park a large
number of public
transport buses,
protesting the high
price of diesel fuel.
According to the Foro
Nacional de Transporte
Público, Maritza
Hernández, the strike is
unavoidable if
government does not
propose strategies for
the public
transportation industry.
The strike could mean a
large percentage of all
buses and taxis to stop
service beginning on
Tuesday.
"The oxygen, that is
money, will only stretch
out for the month of
July and the first week
in August. We don't want
the solution to be an
increase in fares", said
Hernández.
The cause of the
discontent is the
announcement on Friday
by the Regulador General
of the approval of ¢88 colones for a
litre of diesel fuel,
the same increase that
was supposed to be
subsidized by the
government announced two
weeks ago.
The Regualdor make the
announcement following
the failure of
Legislators to approve a
bill that would transfer
¢10 billion colones from
the government treasury
to the state refinery,
Recope, to pay for the
subsidy. The Regulador
said that if the
Legislature does approve
the bill within the
coming days he will be
forced to approve the
price hike that will be
reflected at the pumps
within a week.
The public
transportation union is
clear that such an
increase will choke
public transportation
operators and will be
forced to seek out
increases in bus and
taxi fares.
The strike date was set
for Tuesday to allow
legislators and
government officials a
chance to offer on
Monday a solution.
Viviana Martín, the
ministra de Transportes,
reacted by saying that
operators will face
sanctions if the buses
do not roll on Tuesday,
adding that cancelling a
route concession is one
of the actions she can
take.
Martín bases her firm
stand on Article 32 of
the "Ley de Transporte
Pública" - public
transportation law -
that prohibits the
interruption of service
by companies providing
public transportation.
The minister added that
by August the
Departamento de
Ingeniería de Tránsito
del Ministerio de Obras
Públicas y Transportes (MOPT)
- transportion
department's engineers -
will have ready a report
on the priorities public
transportation and the
realigning of routes and
traffic flow in San
José.
Martín said that
exclusive bus lanes or
prohibiting passenger
vehicles in some lanes
form part of the
discussion for
solutions.
However, according to
the Foro de Transporte
Público, the reforms are
now almost two years in
the making. |
