Liliana Cardona Marín
Regarding public transport, the people of Pereira have complaints and petitions by the masses for the leaders of the Metropolitan Area (Amco), who are in charge of organizing the public transport service, but the case that follows borders on the duty to be all the actors.
Route 14 of the orange buses makes a journey worthy of having a stewardess. In the first shift in the morning, he leaves Dosquebradas and makes the route through Frailes, which is not easy at all, then he arrives at La Popa to go to Pereira and supposedly be at the Ciudad Victoria whereabouts at 5:15 a.m., from where to arrive The Alegrías village should theoretically take 45 minutes.
Now, the orange bus that was supposed to arrive late at 6:15 a.m. is in Alegrías at 7:15 a.m., which means that those who wait at the point known as Las Partidas earn warnings for not arriving on time at their jobs or miss 8:00 am medical appointments in downtown Pereira. This route has three daily frequencies, at noon you have to be at the whereabouts of the shopping center at 12:00 and in the afternoon at 6:00, if this does not happen, you have to get your phone ready to ask for a lodging or prepare your pocket to pay taxi or motorcycle.
But what is happening here?
The inhabitants of Guayabal, Alegrías and La Gramínea only have this means of transportation, because before they had the well-known jeep tour, but the president of the Community Action Board, Martha Pareja and Germán Díaz made the request to Amco, to that they were exchanged for buses. Recently they returned to request that at least the sign read La Gramínea – Alegrías and they commented that they have not returned the route that was taken from them in the Pandemic, which passed through 12 and arrived there at 8:00 a.m.
This whole story is complicated when you have to compete for a space on the bus, because many other passengers who do have other routes and frequencies, get on route 14, to occupy it only up to the Transport Terminal, as well as those who go to Jordán and Guacarí. The affected community asks that someone mediate in this situation that is even more complicated in the village.
And without light to complete
The president of the Board also spoke of the darkness between Via Condina and the first path that enters the village, which aggravates the situation for those who arrive by taxi and especially for women on motorcycles, who They are at the mercy of thieves. The owners of four properties gave permission to install the posts, but the energy company argued that they were too far away.
Given
Some affected by this situation chose not to pay rent on the sidewalk, but in Pereira, but they had to return due to the high costs in the city.
Cipher
$30,000 is the value of a taxi ride from Victoria to Alegrías.
The voices of the community
Martha Lucía Pareja – JAC president
“They change a lot of drivers and just as there are some who are patient, others are rude and inattentive to the community, there is no way you can tell them, look, they left people on the sidewalk and they don’t stop where they should stop either.”
Adriana Quiceno – inhabitant Alegrías
“My case occurred last Thursday night, when the driver of ServiLujo 207 passed at high speed through Ciudad Victoria and left behind many passengers. They are not providing the service for free, there are times when it leaves me and I have no way to get to work”.
María Consuelo Arias – Alegrías inhabitant
“They let me, except for a girl who is from here on the sidewalk who spoke to the driver and got off to let me get on, because the driver said he wasn’t carrying anyone else.”