Metro Monday
Diandino Pena, director of the Transport Reorganization Office (OPRET) has announced that as of Monday, 22 December, rides will be free on the Santo Domingo Metro. The Metro will run from 9am to 7pm and the free rides will end on 6 January. Pena explained that only 10 train cars will be used for this three-week trial run, but that each car can carry an estimated 650 passengers and riders will only have to wait five or six minutes to catch a train. Pena also informed that in its initial stages the government will subsidize the Metro with US$25 million per year. Speaking at a press conference, Pena predicted that the Metro would exceed everyone's expectations.
The above information is WRONG! The SD Metro "Operational"cost for the FY 2009 will be an estimated US $ 25 million, not the actual subsidy from the gov's purse.
Ridership will not be free once the Metro starts commercial operations and is certified with all the planned train sets as required.
The actual gov's subsidy pertaining to actual Metro operations (track maintenance, power, workers, systems, etc...) and not including Police and security is estimated to be in or around 45%. The actual subsidy estimates after full operations and normal revenues related to rides sold, commercial ads space, electronically generated income (TV billboards, land line pay phones, cell and broadband access, internal shops, stands, etc...) is estimated to be below 25% of operational costs. Keep in mind that Security and Police afforded to the system is not exclusive to the Metro but as an added layer from city services to any public services in the country.
Given the aim of the mid term plan to provide the Metro system with a dedicated power grid, using in-country renewable energy as raw materials, the costs represented to the state will be lessen to a higher ratio.
The Metro system was NOT planned as a public funds supported transportation initiative, but one aimed at securing a private investment and shared control with the state. Unlike other systems in the world today, the DR's Mass transit rail system was aimed to be self sufficient with the least amount of public funding intervention.
The above article is misleading and erred by several million of Dollars when it comes to the amount of subsidy it will require from the state on the projected first year under 100% state ownership.
Once line 2 is on track, several private investors will join in the gov and later take over the operations for good.
The participation of the state until the Metro system is branched out to the last line planned for SD's phase 1, is imperative and mandated for the scale of a project to reach the entire National territory on the later stages.
The article in DR1 first page of the website should be corrected to inform people correctly and avoid confusion with actual data on the system to be tested in the next few days...
Diandino Pena, director of the Transport Reorganization Office (OPRET) has announced that as of Monday, 22 December, rides will be free on the Santo Domingo Metro. The Metro will run from 9am to 7pm and the free rides will end on 6 January. Pena explained that only 10 train cars will be used for this three-week trial run, but that each car can carry an estimated 650 passengers and riders will only have to wait five or six minutes to catch a train. Pena also informed that in its initial stages the government will subsidize the Metro with US$25 million per year. Speaking at a press conference, Pena predicted that the Metro would exceed everyone's expectations.
The above information is WRONG! The SD Metro "Operational"cost for the FY 2009 will be an estimated US $ 25 million, not the actual subsidy from the gov's purse.
Ridership will not be free once the Metro starts commercial operations and is certified with all the planned train sets as required.
The actual gov's subsidy pertaining to actual Metro operations (track maintenance, power, workers, systems, etc...) and not including Police and security is estimated to be in or around 45%. The actual subsidy estimates after full operations and normal revenues related to rides sold, commercial ads space, electronically generated income (TV billboards, land line pay phones, cell and broadband access, internal shops, stands, etc...) is estimated to be below 25% of operational costs. Keep in mind that Security and Police afforded to the system is not exclusive to the Metro but as an added layer from city services to any public services in the country.
Given the aim of the mid term plan to provide the Metro system with a dedicated power grid, using in-country renewable energy as raw materials, the costs represented to the state will be lessen to a higher ratio.
The Metro system was NOT planned as a public funds supported transportation initiative, but one aimed at securing a private investment and shared control with the state. Unlike other systems in the world today, the DR's Mass transit rail system was aimed to be self sufficient with the least amount of public funding intervention.
The above article is misleading and erred by several million of Dollars when it comes to the amount of subsidy it will require from the state on the projected first year under 100% state ownership.
Once line 2 is on track, several private investors will join in the gov and later take over the operations for good.
The participation of the state until the Metro system is branched out to the last line planned for SD's phase 1, is imperative and mandated for the scale of a project to reach the entire National territory on the later stages.
The article in DR1 first page of the website should be corrected to inform people correctly and avoid confusion with actual data on the system to be tested in the next few days...
