MÍO service will not improve with partial reactivation of routes, warn operators

Operators of the MÍO mass transport system warn that service provision will not improve in September, when nine feeder and pre-trunk routes are reactivated temporarily suspended since August 15.

There is uncertainty about what may happen when the selective isolation phase begins due to the covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement released this Sunday, they assure that reactivating nine of the 21 routes suspended by Metrocali and the increase in the occupation allowed in vehicles “will not allow to avoid crowds in stations and buses, and to adequately supply the service.”

They explained that on August 15, when 21 routes stopped operating and 23 more were reduced in frequency and hours, there was “a reduction of 35.5% in the total number of kilometers with which the MÍO service is usually provided”, while “The partial reactivation of the nine routes only represents an increase of close to 5% in the kilometers to be traveled.”

Also read: Nine routes of MÍO are reactivated as of September 1, learn what they are

They point out that “programming routes and kilometers of MÍO service with current criteria puts the health and safety of the people of Cali at risk and can turn the system into a source of high contagion” of coronavirus.

The statement also details that Metrocali’s determination involved “leaving 250 buses parked in the patios.” And they acknowledge that the decrease in service capacity generated an increase in passenger complaints, recorded by local media as well as in networks.

With the reactivation announced by Metrocali for next September 1, an average of 4,327 kilometers per business day will be recovered from the 53,260 kilometers that were reduced on August 15: they will go from 96,740 kilometers per day to 101,067 kilometers.

The operators consider that the company “does not take into account that in peak hours the concentration of users and the high demand for travel reaches up to 100% and sometimes in off-peak hours it can reach between 60% and 80% of the occupation, figures greater than those authorized “by the country’s health authorities during the covid-19 emergency.

Regarding the extension of the operating hours of the system, which from September will go until 9:00 pm, they said that the “increase falls short and is not consistent with the need for economic reactivation of sectors such as restaurants and commerce. in general of the city “.

They estimate that if the measure is implemented, waiting times may increase “which will motivate the people of Cali to continue using other informal modes of transport, promoting illegality and, consequently, negatively impacting the demand for MÍO.”

Therefore, they call on the Metrocali directives and the Municipal Mayor’s Office to join forces and design a viable solution for citizens who depend on this means of transport, warning that it is an essential public service, especially in the middle of the economic crisis caused by the covid-19 in the capital of the Valley.