transportation

Deadline drawn for delivery of new buses

Auto industry experts ridiculed the government’s 180-day deadline for delivering a new buses.

Grupo Q. representatives said that there are are currently no bus makers operating in Latin America.

la prensa

complexities: The government’s elaborate plan to modernize the transportation system is beset with problems, including current bus owners’ demands for increased compensation and unrealistic deadlines. 1144020

The company that wins the contract to supply the fleet of new buses for the government’s Transmóvil project will have 180 days to deliver them, a timeframe many automotive distributors considered absurd and implausible.

Joannis Peñalosa, sales manager of commercial vehicle distributor Grupo Q, explained that it could take at least one year to manufacture the 420 buses according to the government’s specifications, especially since there are no municipal bus manufacturers currently operating in Latin America.

Additionally, no factory would accept the order, estimated at $70 million, without a bank-banked guarantee issued by the government, added Peñalosa, who said she knows from experience that this process can take days and even weeks to acquire.

Even if Panamanian companies were hired to assemble the buses from readymade parts, factory orders often require between 60 and 90 days to arrive. And the assemblage would necessitate the collaboration of at least three companies, one specializing in the motor, brakes and other internal mechanics; another responsible for bodywork; and finally, the agency hired to install special air conditioning units.

Based on those estimates, if the contract were awarded today, filling the order for the 420 buses would likely take four to six months to complete.

“At this point we’ve gone beyond the six months allowed by the government and therefore would incur the four percent penalty fine,” said Peñalosa. “That’s a lot of money to lose after the company has made a primary investment.”

Shipping the 420 buses, of course, also poses time issues. Once they arrive at the port of departure, industry experts indicate that delays of up to 30 days are normal while the appropriate vessel is prepared for the voyage. And then there’s the issue of customs.

“When these buses arrive in the country’s ports, the Custom’s office will be a mess because of the amount of paperwork that will need to be done,” said Peñalosa.

Javier Conde Londoño, director of Madrid’s municipal transportation system, commented that when the time comes to order new buses, the city offers the winning contractor a period of 10 to 15 months to deliver the vehicles. Otherwise, the quality and safety of the buses may be jeopardized in the company’s rush to meet an improbable deadline.

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