Omar Marroquín Pacheco
In the heart of Guatemala City, where urban life vibrates with rhythm
accelerated, the University of San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC) stands as an oasis
of knowledge.
However, for many students, getting to the classrooms was a journey full of
Obstacles: long distances on foot, traffic congestion and the ghost of time
lost.
In 2010, advising the subscribed to the current Architect. José Humberto Figueroa Galvez,
with a visionary mind and heart beating for the well-being of the community
university student, he embarked on a crusade.
His thesis, titled “Roads and Parking in the university city”, not only
addressed the need for vehicle spaces, but unearthed a problem
even deeper: the social loss of time, due to pedestrian movement.
Architect Figueroa’s study revealed an alarming reality: thousands of students and
administrative staff wasted valuable hours each day traveling on foot within the
campus central.
The lost time, translated into economic terms, measurements were made of the
lost man-hours measured by the minimum wage, was equivalent to four times the
USAC’s annual budget at the time: a staggering figure that required
urgent response, for the year 2010 the USAC budget was around 2,000 thousand
million quetzales, that is, the social loss of time was 8,000 billion
quetzales per year.
Inspired by this reality, Architect Figueroa not only proposed the construction of 4
new parking spaces, and its study generated from the General Planning Coordinator
rectory, a bolder solution: a free transportation system that
It will connect the different points of the central campus.
The idea was simple but powerful: free the university community from the yoke of
wasted time and give them the opportunity to focus on what really matters: the
learning.
The seed sown by Architect Figueroa germinated and, in 2012, the dream came true.
became reality. USAC’s free transportation began operating, challenging
the status quo and transforming the lives of thousands of students.
Today, the free transportation system has mobilized millions of university students,
buses tirelessly tour the central campus and the CUM, connecting the
classrooms with two entrances to the university, dreams with opportunities.
Time is no longer an enemy, but an ally that is transformed into knowledge, into
experiences and a brighter future for all.
USAC’s free transportation is more than just a service. It is a symbol of the
fight for equity, for access to education and for the right to a life
full university.
It is proof that, when will and creativity come together, even mountains
Lost time can become opportunities to build a better future.
