One of the nation’s best kept secrets is now out in the open: Diandino Pena, current director of the new Office for the Reorganization of Transportation (OPRET), told reporters yesterday that the new mass transit system that the government is proposing will be a hybrid. He clarified that it will be a combination of the much-discussed Metro and what he called “trans-millennium” buses, units with 160-passenger capacity. He also mentioned light trains (possibly tramways) as part of the mix. According to Diario Libre, Decree 477-05 does not limit the Rapid Mass Transit System to these options. The first route will be the same as outlined earlier this year for the Metro: Villa Mella to the Centro de los Heroes (La Feria). A second stage will see the extension of the service to other areas of the city. The decree also calls for the start of rapid transit solutions for Santiago and other cities.
Yesterday, the Santiago municipal council approved a proposal that would create a rail-based mass transit system. According to La Informacion, the council gave a 50 year exclusive contract to the APD Consulting Company to manage the creation of the network of rail transport. Given the quick presentation and “approval” of the project, the PLD and many PRD council members walked out of the session in protest.
Since another part of Pena’s brief is to coordinate the transportation sector, including AMET, OTTT, and OMSA, the decree has met with stiff resistance from transportation union leaders. In Hoy, the three principal union leaders called the decision to put Pena at the head of the sector an entelechy – a philosophical term that means “actuality as opposed to potential”. The union leaders said that the new post would only serve to clutter up and enlarge the bureaucracy. In fact, according to Hoy, Antonio Marte, CONATRA, Ramon Perez Figuereo CNTU and Juan Hubieres FENETRANO considered the OPRET creation to be “nonsense” that will do nothing to assist the transportation sector.