The bus service once provided in the city of Santiago is no longer a presence and the Metropolitan Office of Bus Service (OMSA) parking lot is, in reality, a big junkyard full of discarded and scavenged hulks. From a labor force that once numbered 1,200, the payroll is now 300 and there are fears that it will be further reduced. Of the 120 buses that once served the city, only 20 are still in service along only four bus routes and some seven to eight thousand commuters a day. Local director Felix Paulino told El Caribe reporters that the lifecycle of an urban bus is about five years, and the units that are operating are 13 years old and sometimes fall apart on the road. He had suggested privatizing the service to former OMSA director Ignacio Ditren since there is a demand for it.