A study supporting the opening of two new bus routes connecting locations in the outskirts of San José will be ready in two weeks, the Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT) reported last week.
The two “Intersectoral” routes, expected to be fully operational by May, would run between Escazú, Alajuelita and San Sebastián, and Hatillo and Guadalupe, MOPT said.
The first three Intersectoral routes began operating last October in an effort to ease traffic chaos triggered by the collapse of a stretch of road in the Hatillo-Pavas sector of the Circunvalación, a belt route around the capital.
Some 12,000 passengers use those bus routes daily between La Uruca and Escazú, Desamparados and Moravia, and La Uruca and Guadalupe.
The forthcoming study will include the projected number of passengers expected to use the new services, the number of daily trips and the final map of the routes.
MOPT has yet to announce an exact date for the start of new services, but it likely will happen before the current administration leaves office on May 8.
Intersectoral bus routes run from 5 a.m.-7 p.m. and leave every 15 minutes. The fare is a temporary six-month cost of ₡350 ($0.70) one-way, and bus owners already are planning to file a request for a hike, as soon as the trial period ends.
Bus stops are located every four or five blocks, and trips take some 50 minutes each way.
