The fact that buses are eight time more cost-effective than a subway system has placed OMSA director Ignacio Ditren in opposition of the proposed metrm. Ditren said effecting a recovery in the current transit system should be the government’s first priority and the construction of a metro system should be the last. According to Ditren, cost is a very important factor when considering a new mode of mass transport. In order to install one kilometer of a bus route the cost is US$5 million, while the cost of installing a rail system is US$30 million per kilometer. The INTEC university has suggested that the decision to install a rail system be left to a public hearing. Ditren recommended reverting to the original format under which the OMSA (Metropolitan Transit Authority) first operated, with a reserved lane on major thoroughfares for buses only. The proposed subway system would cover 15 kilometers in its first phase and the estimated cost has been said to be between US$450-US$600 million. According to Ditren, for that amount over 100 kilometers of a bus system could be put into service, including the reconstruction of roadways and the purchase of more buses. For a surface rail system, or perhaps a trolley, the costs would be 10 million euros, enough to facilitate 45 kilometers of bus routes. Miguel Ruiz, a member of the Executive Transport Committee in Madrid, Spain, told reporters that surface transit in Santo Domingo would be “tremendously difficult.” According to Ruiz, a metro will “always be subsidized.” Madrid’s subway system only recoups 60% of its costs, while Paris’s metro makes 50%.