Hugo Beras announces there will be bus corridors in Santiago; presents advances in the Mobility Plan

Santo Domingo, DR
The director of the National Institute of Land Transportation (Intrant), Hugo Beras, headed yesterday morning for the presentation ceremony “Where we are going in terms of Sustainable Mobility.”

During the event, the official showed the advances that the transportation sector has experienced in the last two years in terms of mobility in the Dominican Republic, as well as the list of projects that are in the preparation or construction phase for next year.

Among the projects mentioned by Beras, he highlighted the implementation of three bus corridors in Santo Domingo, which mobilize 90,000 users daily in the capital.

He also announced that the goal for 2023 is to increase the number of corridors to 13 and thus facilitate the movement of the population with more “comfortable, safe and lower cost” transportation. Likewise, the intention is to extend this bus system to the province of Santiago.

“The modernization of the vehicle fleet with the substitution of the concho cars by massive units, the promotion of electric and non-motorized transport, are also aligned with the purposes in favor of the care of the environment”, he indicated.

He also highlighted other implementations carried out by the State, such as the extension of the Santo Domingo Metro and the Cable Car lines to Los Alcarrizos.

He also mentioned the Santiago Monorail project, initiatives which, together, will have an impact on more than 500,000 people living in the northern part of the country.

“Among the great achievements of the modernization of mobility in the country is the growth of a new citizens culture that is migrating towards the electronic payment system and that bets on alternative modes of transportation such as pedestrian activity and the use of bicycles,” said the director.

Public transportation
During his speech, the official said that approximately 3.5 million people live in the Dominican capital.

He added that of the three million who travel daily, 36% are users of public transportation. For that reason, it is a priority of the government to improve this service for the citizens.

At the same time, he highlighted that there are still great challenges in public transportation in the country and offered data on the reality of this sector up to this moment. For example, in the capital’s transit system, 16 thousand units are concho cars, while some 3,000 are mini minibusses; both types of vehicles are of a fleet that exceeds 20 years of age.

The event was also attended by the Minister of the Presidency, Joel Santos, who said that what Beras presented is “the articulation and implementation of a very ambitious action plan, with an investment that will exceed 60 billion pesos until 2025, and which will transform the way we move around, thus improving the conditions of public transport and introducing an important change in the Dominican socio-economic reality”.

As part of the celebration of Sustainable Mobility Week, the event was also attended by the heads of the General Directorate of Traffic Safety and Land Transportation (Digesett), and the Metropolitan Office of Bus Services (OMSA).

Virginie Diaz from the French Development Agency (AFD) and María Gonzalez Mata from the European Union (EU) was also part of the table of honor at the meeting held at the JW Marriott Hotel in the capital.