TuBus is the new means of municipal transportation in Guatemala City whose objective is to replace the red buses discontinued since 2020. The plan is for it to reach eight areas and the mayor’s office already has the vehicles for the first routes, but only one circulates because there is no enough drivers have been recruited.
The other two lines ready to carry passengers are those that leave zone 7 to end at La Terminal zone 4 and 18th street in zone 1. Even so, these do not operate yet and their buses are used on the route to zone 6 to prevent deterioration due to lack of use.
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According to Councilor II, Alessandra Gallio, to operate these routes, 200 pilots are required, and to date 140 are missing. There are also 40 people in the hiring process, but their permanence cannot be assured because it usually happens that, after receiving the training, , the applicants resign.
“We went to job fairs, to events, with steps and pedals, we published on social networks and even the Ministry of Labor gave us a space to promote the positions, but we still do not have the necessary 2.5 drivers for each bus,” adds Gallio.
Training to drive TuBus
According to Claudia Ruano, administrative director of the Municipal Transportation Company (Emetra), to apply for the position a three-month training is required where assistants are paid Q3 thousand. If they complete the process and are hired, their salary is Q4,800.
During these weeks they are taught how the vehicle works and how it is composed, the Traffic Law, how to maneuver and approach stops to avoid accidents, how to drive buses in traffic or in the rain, among other tasks. The process occurs on the four beaches where the vehicles are located: two near Centra Sur, one around the mayor’s office and another on the peripheral ring.
The trainings are open to men and women with at least type “C” or “D” driver’s license. During preparation, they are given time to process the “A” license after receiving the EMT classes.
While the remaining pilots are hired, TuBus will circulate only on the route from La Villa in zone 14 to zone 6. In 2023, applications to be a driver will be open until November and will resume at the beginning of 2024. [Por Carmen Valle. Vía Ojoconmipisto]
