Is It a Real Metrobus System or Just Exclusive Bus Lanes?
<p style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><span style="line-height: 1.6em;">The original plan was a rapid transit station with turnstiles, but, because of a lack of foresight, it became a system of exclusive Metrobus lanes, or a priority route. The main reason: a jurisdictional conflict between the Federal Government and the City. The AGCBA said they "omitted" the overload the stops could exert on the Maldonado Stream. In 2011 the budget increased by 150.91%.</span></p> <div> </div>
Just as Cinderella's carriage turned into a pumpkin after midnight, Juan B. Justo Metrobus proved to be only a system of lanes. According to a report by the Auditor General of the City of Buenos Aires (AGCBA, for its acronym in Spanish) there was "a substantive change in the scope of work" and the collective rapid transit with closed stations and turnstiles in the entrances ended up being a priority lane.
The auditors found that some jurisdictional issues "that led to open stations rather than closed," which was the main reason why the Metrobus went from being a BRT (collective rapid transit) to a priority bus lane system. "While the City is responsible for the infrastructure along the bus lanes, it is the Federal Government the one responsible for regulating transit rules”, according to the watchdog, it was this difference that "changed the original idea ".
Nevertheless, that wasn’t the only change: they had to hire extra work because the overload of the "spacers" on the structure of the Maldonado Stream had been omitted.
The construction was under the aegis of the Directorate General of Architecture which works under the Ministry of Urban Development. For the preparation of the proposal of the Metrobus, the agency conducted a relevant search for information. In it, "it asked the Department of Infrastructure for an impact evaluation the construction would have on the Maldonado Stream."
Regarding this application, the auditors noted that "the analysis of the background material and soil, and the task of the survey on representative sectors were not complete." In addition, "a report of the situation lacked detail and was then removed for reasons that were not clear."
This apparent lack of interest of how the water flow could influence how the construction of the lanes was constructed expressed very clearly how "the need to hire unanticipated work in that original document, meant more expensive construction, 28 71% to be exact.”
But after the construction of the stations, "a full survey of the structure of the Stream for possible points of degradation and consequent repairs was not detected." The report, approved in December 2013, states that "the Special Project Unit of the Maldonado Stream didn’t interfere" even though among its aims is the "implementation, control, and monitoring of every tunnel construction".
Another highlight of the report is that "the call for tenders was made with a blueprint", i.e. they did not have the details necessary for a construction of such size, so there were several changes made during the implementation that resulted in substantial economic differences. Consequently, the expenditure amounted to a 150.91% in 2011 and left uncovered "deficiency in planning and in determining the general guidelines for budgeting." And overall, the company RIVA SA paid a total of $ 67 million.
Nevertheless, the City auditors stated that "the Metrobus of Juan B. Justo is a pilot project so it is expected that new systems are incorporating improvements in several aspects."
Bingo
For all incidental and consequential amendments (above), the AGCBA determined that they failed to pursue the following standards:
• Article 4 of the Law on Public Works
• Article 48 of the Law on Management, Financial Management, and Public Finance.
• Article 88 of the Law on Procurement and Contracting
• Presentation and timely Certificate of Environmental Fitness on stages prior to the adoption of the terms.