Luis Abinader has guidelines to convert OMSA into a public company

Santo Domingo.- The President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, issued Decree no. 167-23, which establishes the criteria for transforming the Metropolitan Bus Services Office (OMSA) into a public company, in accordance with Article 356 of Law no. 63-17 on Mobility, Land Transportation, Transit, and Road Safety. The company will be renamed the Operadora Metropolitana de Servicios de Autobuses (OMSA).

The decree stipulates that the company will be incorporated in accordance with the General Law of Commercial Companies and Individual Companies, Law no. 479-08, and will have legal status, its own assets, and the ability to enter into commercial and contractual obligations under its own management and control mechanisms.

OMSA will be attached to the Ministry of the Presidency and will be solely state-owned, with the Dominican State, represented by the Minister of Finance, owning 99.9% of the capital stock, and the Patrimonial Fund of Reformed Companies (FONPER) or its legal successor owning the remaining 0.1%.

The Board of Directors will be the highest governing body and will consist of five members, including the Ministers of the Presidency, Finance, and Public Works and Communications, who will have a voice and vote. The Executive Vice President of OMSA, who will act as General Administrator, and the Secretary of OMSA will also be part of the Board of Directors, appointed by decree of the President.

The OMSA’s main functions will include planning, coordinating, managing, operating, and maintaining the bus service in the corridors under its responsibility, establishing equitable and accessible rates for users in coordination with competent authorities, implementing and promoting the use of clean and sustainable technologies in its bus service system, guaranteeing accessibility and mobility for people with disabilities and vulnerable groups, developing training programs for personnel involved in the provision of bus services, coordinating and collaborating with other public and private institutions to promote and improve public transport, establishing control and supervision mechanisms to guarantee the quality and safety of the services it provides, and promoting citizen participation in the planning and improvement of the bus service.