By Kendall Thiele
VALDIVIA – Kicking off the next phase of the Tu Micro program in the region of Los Ríos, Minister of Transport and Telecommunications Paola Tapia with Regional Attendant Ricardo Millán saw the arrival of 70 modern buses that will renew the fleet of existing public transportation, benefiting all users.
“The newly renovated Tu Micro is the reflection of the commitment that we have with the users of public transport throughout the country. With this initiative we continue to improve the quality of the services that we provide, along with improving connectivity in different regions where the program has been implemented,” stated the Minister Tapia.
On the initiative, which is financed with funds from the law of subsidy to public transport, has renewed more than 200 buses during this management. This has also given operators the possibility to replace their older vehicles with newer buses that are less polluting, and provide users with a much more comfortable trip. The old vehicles will be destroyed and removed from circulation.
Mayor Ricardo Millan stressed that “President Michelle Bachelet promised to improve the quality of people’s lives, working to generate connectivity, improve public transport and deliver a service more comfortable and safer for users. Together with the help of the Minister, we’ve been able to accomplish this work.”
Since its implementation in 2011, there have been more than 2,800 million pesos (roughly 4,000,000 USD) in subsidies in various areas of the national territory for the replacement of 3,653 old machines by new vehicles.
To date, there are 73 public transport services that provide connectivity to nearly 50 thousand people living in isolated areas whom previously did not have access to public transport. In addition, around 6 thousand students of scarce resources have free school transportation, thanks to 110 new transit services.
