The main thing that went wrong with the new 27 de Febrero Avenue bus lane was that it was too successful. There were too many clients, as Dominicans enthusiastically showed up to use the new buses. The director of the new Metropolitan Transport Authority (AMET) transit reorganization plan for Santo Domingo, engineer Hamlet Hermann, promised 22 more buses today, bringing the number of buses on the route to 96. Dominicans tried out the bus lane for free on the 26 January holiday, and then on Tuesday, 27 January, queued along the avenue to pick up a bus. The new buses charge RD$3.00 for the 22 kilometer route that extends from Los Tres Ojos on the Avenida de las Americas on the eastern end of the city to the Cruce de Manoguayabo on the west end of the 27 de Febrero Avenue. The buses depart every three minutes from 6 am to 10 pm. There are 98 bus stops along the route, within distances of about 300 meters. Fares are collected from riders inside the bus. The buses have a capacity for 45 persons, seated, and 15, standing. For those driving vehicles, it was also a day to celebrate. The absence of the fleets of "conchos", or multiple fare-paying passenger taxis, made driving along the new expressway of Santo Domingo a pleasure. The new transit police firmly but courteously urged those violating regulations regarding the use of the 27 de Febrero expressway to comply with the new ordinance that establishes the bus lane is off limits to taxis, mini-buses and unauthorized buses. General Bienvenido Manzueta, police chief of the central command of the city of Santo Domingo, reinforced the transit police efforts.
