Call for patience as bus crisis continues

As passengers continue to fume as they wait in long lines for Metro buses, the Chamber of Commerce has weighed in to the transit crisis and a government spokesma talks of the future.

The President of Panama’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculure, Irvin Halman, has asked the My Bus Company and the Transit Authority to resolve the crisis in the capital , "since this situation is getting out of control " because of the inconvenience caused to the public.

The Presidency Minister, Roberto Henriquez, said on Wednesday March 20 that service should improve in areas such as the Plaza 5 de Mayo, with the placement of signs identifying routes to Transístmica , Via Espana, Ricardo J. Alfaro and the corridors, so that people know the sites where the Metro Bus units are standing.
For users, carriers and transit experts say the number of buses is insufficient.
Mi Bus Manager Iván Posada said the problems encountered with public transport in Panama City in recent days "hav e improved gradually" and that the company is continuing to monitor the situation to make even more adjustments.
Despite the changes, users continued complaining on Wednesday .morning about the bus service. Posada said that this is a process that will take time.
Mi Bus official Miguel Cardona said that people need to be patient and calm and that the changes will gradually improve service.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Communication Luis Eduardo Camacho said that citizens see the Metro Bus as the solution of the future.
"People are living for a solution," he said. "Already there is a light that is seen at the end of the tunnel."
Camacho said, moreover, that the situation is not as bad as people have described, and said that it was chaotic before the Metro bus system was implemented.
"No one can deny that there is a problem," he said. "But now there is a path to a solution that the government has put in place."