Bus stoppage causes chaos

[NewsWhore]

Yesterday's bus stoppage lasted four hours (6am to 10am). Bus owners halted passenger transportation in Santo Domingo and other parts of the country. The striking bus owners seek to pressurize the government into providing increased fare subsidies. Diario Libre writes that many drivers weren't aware of the reasons for the strike and simply didn't work because they were afraid of retributions. Union leaders defended their actions yesterday. Eight people were injured occurred after a home-made bomb was thrown inside a non-striking employee transport bus of the Caribe Tours company heading to a free zone factory on Las Americas highway and the passengers scrambled out amidst smoke. One person was shot in the UASD area. Union leaders have agreed to meet with Monsignor Agripino Nunez Collado today to discuss the issues at hand, but Office for the Reorganization of Transit (OPRET) head, Diandino Pena, said he will not bow down to the unions' pressure and that negotiations couldn't take place in the middle of a permanent bus stoppage. Pena, according to Diario Libre, has cut off negotiations with the unions and warned that some politicians could take advantage of the situation to create chaos. Hoy writes that in total, 250 urban lines were closed down, and 475 routes in the south and 400 in the east were without service.

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