The Quito Metro, the first subway transportation system in Ecuador, began its commercial operation today with the payment of fares after four months of its inauguration and a socialization process that included test rides.
On the first day of commercial opening, there was a massive influx of users in 10 of the 15 stations enabled to use this urban train system.
Crowds and delays in the purchase of tickets at the ticket counter, the lack of ticket agents, and failures in the pass printing system with QR codes marked the day in the midst of complaints from users.
The company said in a statement that at Quitumbe station, the first departure point from the south of Quito, the capital, the demand of users tripled the average that the Metro had been mobilizing daily in its test phase, which generated setbacks in the sale of tickets.
Given this, he apologized to the users for the inconvenience generated. He pointed out that “the necessary corrective measures are being taken so that the following days will be carried out with agility”.
As of this Tuesday, the general public must pay a fare of 0.45 cents, while a reduced fare of 0.22 cents was established for students up to high school and senior citizens and a preferential fare of 0.10 cents for people with disabilities.
The Quito Metro, whose construction began in 2010 by the Spanish company Acciona, has a fleet of 18 trains that run from north to south along 22.6 kilometers.
At the beginning of the commercial operation, the Metro enabled only two-time slots during rush hours: in the morning, from 7:00 to 10:00 local time, and in the afternoon, from 16:40 to 19:30 local time.
This Tuesday alone, more than 10,000 people were expected to be mobilized.
The operation will be normalized in the coming weeks when the remaining five stations will be enabled, the schedule will be extended, and the digital collection of this system, operated by the consortium formed by the companies Metro de Medellín from Colombia, and Transdev, from France, will be extended.
When fully operational, this transportation system is expected to mobilize some 400,000 people per day, a relief for the Ecuadorian capital experiencing vehicular chaos.
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