President Luis Abinader attended the symbolic start of new efforts on behalf of the government to organize free transport for school children attending public schools nationwide. The Ministry of Education, now under Minister Angel Hernandez is working on a pilot program for free and safe transport of children to schools.
Abinader took photos with children on board buses in the La Virgen sector of Santo Domingo North. The School Mobility Pilot Program begins in Yamasá, Monte Plata, Bayaguana, Sabana Grande de Boyá and Peralvillo, La Virgen-La Victoria-Hacienda Estrella in Santo Domingo province. Also in the school districts in Haina and Nigua in San Cristóbal and Las Calderas in Peravia province. An estimated 100,000 students are to be benefitted of a target of two million students once the program is fully running.
Public school students in the pilot program are receiving a “Bono Transporte Estudiantil” smart card that can be used for free transport on the Metro, Teleférico and OMSA corridors.
The President says the program represents savings for families that will not have to pay to transport their children to school. President Abinader urged the educational community to support the program. “Let’s take care of those buses that belong to the people, let’s take care of the school property, let’s take care of all this that belongs to the people and if we take care of it, we can allocate more resources to other problems,” said Abinader.
Education Minister Ángel Hernández said there is the vocation and decision that the money of the Ministry of Education “go where it should go,” referring to the launching of this project that adds to the welfare of the student community.
In addition, the general director of the Oficina Metropolitana de Servicios de Autobuses (OMSA), Radhamés González emphasized that all buses assigned to the school routes are being tracked live at GPS level. He said the system will trigger an alert if the unit leaves the route or exceeds the speed limits. The OMSA is a public transport bus agency of the government.
The Ministry of Education also shared the good news that the turnout for the first day of classes after the Christmas through Three Kings holidays was exceptional.
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11 January 2023