Businessmen and Government authorities will travel to Brazil to negotiate the final details of the bus renovation program.
The Transportation vice Minister will travel with transport businessmen and other government authorities. The travel date will be announced next Monday.
“Last week, during the visit of Brazilian President Lula to El Salvador, both governments agreed on a millionaire loan for social programs and renovating the country’s bus fleet”, reported Laprensagrafica.com.
Brazil will provide technical assistance and credit lines for modernizing the suburban system for short routes.
Those companies currently involved in outer urban transportation will have to merge into a single company, in order to jointly invest in the technology required for the project.
The government of Brazil has showed its willingness to cooperate with Guatemalan authorities in developing a modern, safe and dignifying transportation system.
"Transurbano", a new urban transportation system, will begin in March, serving 200.000 users in Avenida Petapa, Guatemala City.
In February, users will be able to request pre-paid cards (dubbed 'SIGA') at CACs (Customer Service Centers). These cards will be free of charge, and users will recharge them at any of these centers.
Different cards will be used for different needs, for example disabled people, elders, students, tourists and children.
In Costa Rica, authorities debate the future of passenger and cargo rail systems.
Opposing interests have arisen between the proposed urban transportation system, which would use a narrow gauge (1.067 mm), and a private cargo train project linking the ports of the Caribbean and the Pacific, which would use a standard gauge (1.435 mm).
An article in Nacion.com explains both points of view, one by the Costa Rican rail authorities at INCOFER (Costa Rican Rail Transportation Authority), who argue in favor of keeping narrow gauge for both systems, and representatives from the National Concessions Council, who proposed an urban train system ("TREM"), running over standard gauge.
President Alvaro Colom inaugurated a new transportation system in the capital city, called 'Transurbano Siga'.
Its name stands for Guatemalan Integrated Bus System, and introduces new bus units and the possibility of prepaying tickets.
Luis Gómez, vice president of the Association of Urban Bus Companies, commented that 5 companies bet on the change in order to provide a top quality service, in which users do not need to carry cash, as they will be using electronic pre-paid cards. Additionally, the driver's unions will enjoy better perks and constant training.
The first contract for "Metro Bus", a new transportation system, will be awarded on March 29th, 2010.
This project will renew the current bus fleet with air conditioned, high capacity vehicles, but will commence with existing 'Red Devil' buses ("Diablos Rojos").
Demetrio Papadimitriu, presidential minister, remarked that the system "... will feature a 'one ticket system', using rechargeable cards", reports Pa-digital.com.pa.
Valued in one million dollars, it will asses Guatemala City's urban transportation system.
It should also define a new transportation scheme to complement the 'Transmetro' system. It will probably be an underground or surface metro or a trolley train.
Acting president Rafael Espada "signed ... a letter in which he required financial cooperation from the French Government, to conduct a feasibility study, which could take from three to six months", reported newspaper La Prensa Libre.
Possible lack of demand from users could make the project economically unfeasible.
The Transport Commission from the "Pro-Ciudad" (Pro-City) Alliance conducted a study with experts, whose conclusions where analyzed by the President of the Panamanian Society of Engineers and Architects, Rodrigo Mejía-Andrión.
A prensa.com article reports that Mejia-Andrión referred to the Dominican Republic Metro when speaking about the failure of a metro system. "This country projected 200.000 passengers a day, but not even 50.000 persons use the system, because the cost of the ticket is way higher than a bus ride. However, the state must continue paying for a transportation system that serves a small portion of the population and is unprofitable on its own, due to low demand".
A trolley line is being analyzed within the Metro project, aiming to make it a touristic attraction as much as a transportation mechanism.
Government sponsored, this proposal looks to improve the city's image and touristic experience, within the goal of restoring the "Casco Antiguo" (historic center) as a touristic spot in Panama.
The tram line would link the recently inaugurated "Cinta Costera" (Coastal Belt) with the "Casco Antiguo", to finally reach Amador Causeway.
Among Central American countries, Honduras won the best score and Panama got the worst in the ranking by the World Economic Forum.
The 2009 annual ranking by the World Economic Forum evaluates the quality of the ground transportation networks of 133 countries. Among them, Honduras placed 64th, followed by Costa Rica in the 79th place on the list. Guatemala and El Salvador came in the 105th and 118th spots, respectively.
Transportation workers presented an urban transportation modernization plan supported by the Blue Bird Corporation of the United States.
The project proposes the incorporation of buses into the automated card payment system. The Blue Bird Corporation would be the supplier and the Transtarjetas company from Panama would be responsible for producing the plastic cards, distributing them, and promoting their use.
A bus prototype specifically designed to integrate itself into the transport system of Guatemala City was presented.
Eduardo Velasquez, in his article in El Periódico reported that this is the work of a group of national and foreign businessmen "led by Fernando Anzueto, an engineer for the Maprisa Company. He was accompanied by Severino Rosmo from the famous Rosmo Chassis Company and entrepreneurs from the Companies Hino of Japan, GPS of Central America and Cardtech. The new bus prototype has two rows of seats, each attached to the side windows of the bus. It has the fundamental modern systems for urban transport in the XXI Century such as GPS tracking systems, video cameras, a prepaid card system and entrance and exit doors on both sides of the vehicle."
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