After the Presidential speech last Sunday, a new set of traffic rules were laid out that were supposed to free up transit in the nation’s capitol and other major cities. The small vehicles known as publicos that provide a service along specified routes were supposed to work on alternate days, according to whether their license plate numbers were odd or even. In addition, according to the address given by Fernandez, the real ‘junk-heaps’ still on the road were to be removed from service during the registration process to identify each vehicle with a different colored stripe or sticker, but this has not yet begun. According to Listin Diario, even the officials responsible for implementing the new regulations have not yet received any instructions. With more than 30,000 publicos circulating in Santo Domingo alone, the process of identifying each one is progressing very slowly. Both the Metropolitan Transit Authority and the Technical Office for Ground Transport (AMET and OTTT) have issued orders that the entire registration process needs to be completed within the next fortnight. However, neither AMET nor the OTTT have been able to say when the new measures will be applied to the mass transit units that service Santo Domingo and other cities. German Pena Guadalupe, the head of the OTTT, told the reporters that San Pedro de Macoris and La Romana will begin the alternate day publico service next Monday. Yesterday, heavy equipment from the Public Works Ministry began tearing up the speed bumps along many streets. According to sources, the speed bumps in front of police stations, army installations, schools and hospitals will remain in place.