Court buries Transmovil project

PANAMA. The “diablo rojos” are here to stay, at least for now. The Ground Transport and Transit Authority (ATTT) and bus owners met on Tuesday and decided to keep the diablos running as the Supreme Court has put a final stop to the Transmovil project, initiated by President Martin Torrijos.

After charges pressed by victims of the transportation system, a court ruling suspended the payment of indemnities worth $25,000 to bus owners in return for their old buses.

Three Hundred and fifty bus owners had already signed papers to hand their buses to the State in return for the compensation. Up to this week 30 bus owners had received the payment. With the new court ruling, the 30 bus owners with cash in their pockets will be able to keep the payment, yet the rest of the applications are left null.

The government also revoked the law that has banned since 2008 the import import of used school buses from abroad to turn into new “diablo rojos.”

On Tuesday, a 24 hour bus strike to demand the compensation left bus users stranded across the city, with many closing streets to complain while others harassed bus owners. Some buses servicing routes were overcharging.