[sustran] Bus Strike in Santiago

[Christopher Zegras]

courtesy of chipnews www.chip.cl

    --  BUS DRIVERS PREPARE TWO DAY STRIKE.  Bus companies
and drivers Saturday agreed to unite efforts and bring public
transportation to a halt for two days this week.
        Public bus companies and the unions that represent their
drivers have set Tuesday and Wednesday for their city-wide
protest planned for the Santiago Metropolitan Region.
        Operators of the public transportation system explain that
the protest is meant to dramatize their opposition to the
government's bidding process as well as a proposal that would
introduce different fares according to the hour and distance
traveled.
        Another sore point is the government's plan to restrict the
numbers of buses circulating on the city's streets, which they
believe would reduce their earnings and, as other modes of
transportation are not affected by the mandate, is discriminatory.
         Bus drivers, whose salaries are based on a percentage of the
bus fares collected, added that they would eventually like to see
fares increase from the current average fare of 160 pesos [US$0.38] to 220
pesos [US$ 0.53].
        While the protest is planned for two days,  Demetrio
Marinakis, president of the Transportation Board, said the
associations will decide Tuesday night whether or not to extend it
another day.
        The decision by both associations to hold their protests on
the same days complicates the government's contingency plans.
Transportation Minister Claudio Hohmann and Santiago Governor
German Quintana urged bus drivers and companies to boycott the
strike.  Warning of stiff fines and even jail sentences, they said the
protest places "state security at risk."
         Among the measures the government has planned to
confront the strike are the suspension of vehicle restrictions,
authorization of school and tourist buses to operate as public
transportation, and temporary elimination of car pool lanes.
 Christopher Zegras       http://www.iiec.org                 /\   /^\
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