The National Institute for Ground Transportation and Traffic (Intrant) has announced that public transportation drivers (multi-fare paying taxis or conchos or publicos) will get government relief during the coronavirus crisis. Claudia de los Santos, the executive director of Intrant, told reporters that around 30,000 drivers that have fulfilled the requirements to be registered by Intrant, will or are currently receiving government compensation through programs such as Solidaridad, “Stay at Home” or Bonogas. She noted that the drivers now see the value of registering with the Intrant.
The director also noted that those drivers that have created companies are backed by the Treasury of the Social Security (TSS) programs and the remainder fall under the aegis of the government’s Social Program. She said the government continues to ban the use micro and minibusses and all other forms of inter-city public transportation to halt the spread of the virus.
The ubiquitous “publicos” are allowed to move about, but only with three passengers. Nevertheless, reports are that few drivers are complying with the passenger limitation. Ground Transportation and Traffic Safety (Digesett) agents are supposed to be on the lookout for violations of these regulations.
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Diario Libre
20 April 2020