San Juan unveils $1.1M public transportation project
The San Juan municipal government unveiled a collective transportation system called La Línea de San Juan, that will begin operating today, following a $1.1 million investment in funds from the Federal Transit Administration.
In addition, $500,000 will be allocated annually, according to the budget, for the maintenance and repair services of the vehicle fleet so the units meet the “highest standards and allow providing a quality service,” municipal officials confirmed.
La Línea de San Juan will provide a free service so residents and visitors can move efficiently in the city without the need to use their car, San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero said.
This service is divided into two phases, the first phase of which will begin today, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The routes for this first phase are:
Route 1: Shanghai, Playita a Luis Lloréns Torres and Santurce
Route 4: Hill Brothers, López Sicardó, Parcelas Falú and Country Club
Route 5: Condado – Old San Juan
Route 6: Caimito – Cupey
Route 6A: Caimito to Río Piedras
Route 7: Pedrín Zorrilla – Domenech – Santurce
In the initial phase, a total of 10 trolleys and 12 drivers will be operating the line. The other four routes planned under phase two are projected to be integrated in August:
Route 2: Las Margaritas to Santurce
Route 3: Good Council, Venezuela and Río Piedras Urban Center
Route 8: Américo Miranda, Las Lomas and Domenech
Route 9: Río Piedras – Centro Médico
“Despite the importance of this service, it was interrupted for several years, after the lack of conditioning of the facilities and units, as a result of the mismanagement of resources during the past incumbency,” said Romero during a news conference.
“The RED Conecta, as it was called before, had not operated since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020,” said Romero.
One of the findings of an evaluation that the municipality undertook was that the routes did not connect to each other.
For example, under the prior collective transportation system, a resident of Caimito could only visit places in that area — they could not get to Río Piedras because there were no connections between the routes to make it viable.
It should be noted that the nine routes will have a total of 280 stops, which will be duly identified for the benefit of users.
In addition, a map with the different routes that will be running today will be available on the municipality’s website.
It is projected that once the nine routes are operational, more than 197,916 people will benefit from this project.
