President Luis Guillermo Solís is asking the legislature to let him hire more than 1,000 new traffic officers, among other measures the government is pursuing in hopes of alleviating traffic.
Motorists will be able to drive freely throughout San José during Easter Holy Week as Public Works and Transport Ministry officials agreed to suspend vehicle restrictions that prohibit drivers from entering the capital's downtown area once a week, according to license plate numbers.
Uber said it plans to hire 300 people and invest $3.5 million in Costa Rica by the end of 2016. But the government received the news with a cold shoulder.
Violations to Costa Rica’s Traffic Law will cost motorists an average of 1 percent more starting next month, after Costa Rica's judicial branch approved increases of up to ₡3,126 ($5.75) according to the category of the fine.
The death of a motorcyclist last weekend brought Costa Rica's traffic-related death toll to 356 this year, a figure that surpassed the 355 recorded in 2014.
Traffic Police reported that 19 people died in drunk driving accidents from January through August, a 46 percent increase over the same time period last year.
“Members of the union, who are traffic officers, have the right to have their own opinion about the legality or not of Uber but they do not have the right to not comply with their duties and disobey orders,” Traffic Police Commissioner Mario Calerdón said.
Uber went live in Costa Rica Friday afternoon but within hours the Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT) announced that it had fined two of the ride-hailing service's drivers, according to a Facebook post from the ministry. As MOPT denounced Uber, it released a statement repudiating any violence against the company's drivers after photos of a car with smashed windows surfaced on social media in the pre-dawn hours Saturday, reportedly showing a vehicle that was damaged because it was working with Uber.
Casa Presidencial said the change would free up traffic police to address other issues and clear the country’s congested roadways from unnecessary traffic jams.
