Operators Protest the Modernization of Culhuacanes’ Transport

Public transport operators protested today in Coyoacan, Mexico City, to denounce the modernization of public transportation in the Culhuacanes area, a project undertaken by the Ministry of Mobility and Transportation of Mexico City (SEMOVI). Operators are denouncing the establishment of the "Autobuses Barrios Culhuacán S.A. de C.V '' zonal corridor, alleging irregularities in the acquisition of buses and in the scrapping program process.

Public transport drivers demonstrated on the main avenues of Coyoacan. On March 7, during another similar march, Arturo Toscano, representative of 313 concessionaires of these routes, said that there has been a misappropriation of public funds in the government of Mexico City, which they call the "Transportation Cartel." 

Toscano alleges that SEMOVI paid MX$61.2 million (US$3.4 million) through a shell company. According to Excélsior, this contract involved scrapping bonuses assigned to a company that does not represent the transport operators and they used those bonuses that individual transport operators had received, amounting to MX$450,000 (US$25,500).

In response, SEMOVI urged the transport group of Route 84, which it referred to as a minority, not to disrupt the roadways with blockades and to continue meetings to join the "Culhuacanes" zonal project. SEMOVI emphasized that all procedures have been carried out transparently since the start of the project in 2022.

The project aims to modernize transportation, transitioning from individual concessions to a zonal company. This involves scraping over 180 microbuses to make way for 76 state-of-the-art buses and eliminating unethical practices.

In addition, SEMOVI disputes the existence of the "transport cartel," arguing that the dispute lies in the fact that most established concessionaires, now part of the company, were chosen by the majority to lead the board of directors.