City looks for company to manage tram operations

With a contract manager selected to finish construction of Cuenca’s tranvía, the city is now looking for a company to manager its operation.

Cuenca tram cars at the rail yard.

“We have two offers from transportation management companies, one from Medellín (Colombia) and the other from Tenerife (Canary Islands),” Cuenca Mayor Marcelo Cabrera said on Monday. According to the mayor, the management company will be responsible for day-to-day operations of the transit system, including training conductors and establishing operating standards.

“In addition, we are in discussions with several other firms who have expressed an interest in bidding,” he said.

The Medellín tramway operates as an integrated system that includes the tram, cable car networks, and a public bicycle service, while the Tenerife tramway is fed by a network of buses, similar to the one envisioned for Cuenca. Both systems operate through public-private alliances, Cabrera said.

The mayor said that the construction management contract with the French consortium ACTN will be signed October 11, with work expected to be completed in August of 2018.