Due to the events that occurred on May 19 and 25 of this year, where two articles from the Flota Occidental company were incinerated on the road that leads from Pereira to Chocó, Héctor Fabio Artunduaga, manager of the Pereira Transport Terminal, indicated that the routes to the municipality of Pueblo Rico and the department of Chocó are still suspended, as a preventive measure following the events in the last 20 days, where three vehicles from one of the transport companies were incinerated.
For his part, in conversations with this outlet, Jorge Iván Posada Hoyos, Operations Director of the Transport Terminal, indicated that more than 10 daily trips are dispatched to the department of Chocó between the companies Flota Occidental and Arauca SA, mobilizing up to 300 passengers. , not counting those that may be found on the way.
This situation not only involves inconvenience for citizens who, according to Posada, “They have to look for other transport alternatives or make these intermittent or connecting routes; postpone the trips or, failing that, pay rates higher than those charged for duly authorized transportation to another type of transportation.” but losses in the economic sector.
“There are many people who come from Chocó to do business in the city of Pereira or in the department of Risaralda, but there are also other people who seek other destinations, for example Medellín, Bogotá, because different destinations looking for other activities such as commerce or health ”.
What the transport companies state is that until there is a guarantee from both the departmental (Risaralda and Chocó) and national authorities, where the security required by users, the driver and the vehicle is provided, these companies will return to normal operation.