After a round of hurried negotiations Wednesday, Bogota reached a consensus with the city’s transportation union, avoiding a mass strike in the capital.
Talks between local government officials and the Association of Small Transporters (Apetrans) lasted for 14 hours and concluded with an agreement that saw city officials accepting some of the 12 major demands submitted by Apetrans.
Central to the agreement was the government’s purchase of 700 vehicles, which were to be scrapped, at their current value.
The feud stems from Apetrans’ claim that operators have been charged unfair rental rates for their vehicles.
Apetrans’ President Alfonso Perez threatened to remove the city’s 17,000 buses and vans from the streets Wednesday, prior to the negotiations.
Despite the progress made, an agreement regarding the “Pico y Placa” act has not been reached. Pico y Plata restricts 40% of vehicles from traveling during peak hours to encourage the use of public transport and reduce traffic congestion.
An additional meeting is to be set up in the coming days to discuss the outstanding disagreements between the union and the government.
