The Quito Metro, built by the Spanish company Acciona, began its commercial operation on Tuesday with long lines to purchase tickets and still not operating at full capacity, with reduced hours and some stations still closed.
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The concentration of travelers to purchase their tickets at stations such as Quitumbe, in the south of the Ecuadorian capital, led to Long lines formed, while the ticket system presented inconsistencies at times that slowed down sales.
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In some cases, the wait was as long as half an hour, which caused groups of users to decide to enter without paying, according to local media reports.
The mayor of Quito, Santiago Guarderas, acknowledged that “There are drawbacks that will be polished to offer, in a short time, an impeccable service to the people of Quito.”
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The commercial operation of the Quito Metro began with the sale of QR codes to enter the facilities, in the absence of the definitive collection system being installed in the coming months.
At the moment, the trains will only run six hours a day, divided into two time slots that coincide with peak hours, which go from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and from 4:40 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
In addition, this phase began with only ten of the fifteen stations operating, while the remaining five remain closed to the public.
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The authorized stations are El Labrador, Iñaquito, La Carolina, El Ejido, San Francisco, Magdalena, El Recreo, Solanda, Morán Valverde and Quitumbe.
The fare has been established at 45 cents for a single trip, at 22 cents for students up to high school and over 65 years of age, and at 10 cents for people with disabilities.
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With a cost that exceeds 2,000 million dollars, construction of the Quito Metro began ten years ago, in 2013, and has 15 stations and a fleet of 18 trains that will operate for the first 6 years by a consortium formed by the company Transdev and the Colombian Metro de Medellín.
EFE
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