New mayor negotiates an end to bus service suspensions, promises an updated fare review

On her first full day as Cuenca mayor, Marisol Peñaloza helped negotiate an end to the suspension of nighttime bus service. The resumption of service began Thursday with a promise from bus owners that there will be no more suspensions until a new study of operating costs and fares is completed.

Cuenca city buses have resumed a full schedule.

Earlier negotiations had broken down when former mayor Cristian Zamora and the city Mobility Commission insisted on using a four-year-old University of Cuenca study as the basis for adjusting fares.

Boris Ochoa, representative of seven bus companies that operate 425 city buses, apologized for the “inconvenience and hardship” that the suspensions had caused but blamed it on the “unyielding position” of city officials in previous talks. “We will abide by the new agreement as a new review, which will begin immediately, is carried out,” he said, adding that the University of Cuenca study was “too old” and did not recognize higher fuel costs, increased taxes and inflation.

In December, the municipal council voted to increase payment to bus owners to 40 cents per ride with a 10-cent subsidy, maintaining the 30-cent fare for the public. Ochoa claimed that bus companies were not involved in the decision and disagreed with both the amount of the new fare and the fact it would be paid with a subsidy. “We never agreed to that and cannot count of the city to make payments in a timely manner,” he said, claiming that payment of the old $600 per bus subsidy was often three or four months late. “We can count on passengers to pay on time, but not the city,” he says.

After the agreement was reached, Peñaloza acknowledged that bus companies had “legitimate concerns” and that the city, with outside expertise, would begin a new fare review as soon as possible. She said that all bus companies would begin receiving the new 10-cent per ride subsidy immediately. The subsidy had been withheld from two companies for “lack of technical data.”

It is unclear if owners will pay fines imposed on 99 buses for failure to complete their daily schedule. Ochoa said that would be decided in ongoing talks.