User culture hampering Metro bus system.

Sixteen months and 800 buses after the launch of Metro Bus in Panama City, user culture and service problems are delaying a fully functional system, with little promise of early change.

Added to these difficulties, some units are already showing signs of deterioration such as stripped bodies, fenders broken, cracked windows and lack of emergency equipment says a La Prensa investigation

"The bus model sold to the Panamanian people by the Minister of the Presidency, Demetrio Papadimitriu as 'comfortable, reliable and safe', provided by Volvo and Mercedes Benz, still leaves evidence of its incompatibility to roll through the streets of the districts of Panama and San Miguelito" says the survey.

Reporters traveling different routes found passengers heading for work waiting over 30 minutes for a bus.

Once aboard they empty packets of biscuits and chocolate, as well as newspapers on the floor.

On one bus only two of the seven hammers for breaking windows the glass in case of emergency, remained. Hammers were missing on other  buses.

On a  bus Santa Librada-Transístmica the story was the same: missing hammers, but in addition, seat belts, located in the space for people with disabilities who use wheelchairs, were cut.

In a Metro Busr there is capacity for  85 people, 35 seated and the rest standing.. There are two unique positions for people with disabilities, the elderly or pregnant. However, these seats, which are colored blue to distinguish them from the rest, were in use by other passengers.

Holes in the road were a constant problemIn the district of San Miguelito. passing the entrance to Cerro San Isidro Bats, the bus hit over 10 big holes,

In a bus  on the Los Andes -Albrook notice the fire extinguisher  was missing.

The investigation team also.reported illegal stops and a driver allowing friends aboard at unscheduled stops and they avoided payment.

There are about 600,000 users in the province of Panama) have to learn to adapt to the new system.

“They have to line up to board the buses, they cannot eat inside the units (although some do) and instead of calling for the stop,  they must use one of the three buttons.

The company My Bus, which runs the  Metro Bus transport system, argues that part of the deterioration of the vehicles is the responsibility of users. Including those who steal the emergency tools.

Ivan Posada, manager of My Bus, said that users steal hammers and fire extinguishers thatare for their own safety”

Posada says My Bus, has sent personnel to the Volvo factory in Curitiba, Brazil to Superpolo in Bogota, Colombia and to the air conditioner provider in Germany, and developed training for all employees from the time of arrival of the company in Panama City.

With regard to the culture of caring for the buses, Posada asked users who discover other passengers committing illegal acts  to reprimand them and call the police

Valentin Morales, who daily used the  Pedregal,trunk route said it is unpleasant to  ride   buses that are full of garbage, at any time of day, which suggests they are not cleaned. Meanwhile Posada said; "If we, as citizens do not control and exert moral PRESSURE, this will not improve

An example of teaching civility is AIS  a Chilean lady who every morning takes the bus advising users to "take care of what you have", and even pulls out a bag and picks up litter, according to  reports  from users of the route San Pedro-South Corridor.

Users add the drivers are part of the problem because there are more frequent collisions and accidents that involving Metrobuses,

For Gabriela Garcia, a passenger, the attitude of drivers is far from satisfactory, since they seem to be the same as the "Red Devils" now driving Metro buses. She  also dcalled for more buses and passengers   ceding  seats to pregnant women.

In this regard, Posada said that we must improve the attitude of management and asked for patience.

Added with no reports on the number of cases where its units are involved.

On the frequency of passing buses, said that modifications in the schedule of services, but admits having difficulty on some routes, such as via Espana

The director of the ATTT Urban Mobility ATTT, Rafael Escobar, said they have set a goal that is running in June throughout the transportation system in the capital correcting the flaws.

John Bennett, president of the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (Apede) and an expert on transportation issues, said that a user education program is needed

According to Bennett, part of the problem of deterioration and lack of a"culture of care" is because for years passengers had the fasiblos rojos.

Bad habits ingrained for so long do won’t change overnight.. But still there are other conditions that contribute to the problem, and is, as like come, an incomplete system that still keeps some similarities with the 'Red Devils', and therefore does not create distance between culture and disorder. "

"We have to wait until the new transport systems, the Metro Bus and Metro-are fully functioning to begin road safety education as it should be linked to orderly and conducive to good user behavior