Good news for those of you looking to get out of town for a while.

The Provincial Emergency Operations Committee (COE) of Azuay has finally approved the reopening of the land terminals in Cuenca and Paute after they presented their plans for achieving the biosafety protocols that were established by the National COE.

These routes will still fall under the 50% capacity requirement set by the National COE. Under the approval for the carriers to operate, they are not allowed to increase pricing, even with the lower capacity.

Patricio Picón, President of the Union of Cooperatives of Interprovincial Transport of Azuay Passengers (UCTIPA), warned that some bus owners are on the verge of bankruptcy. He has asked the authorities to intensify their controls against informal carriers. He said that on some routes,there are buses and other vehicles carrying passengers who do not have the permission to do so, and who have not met all the biosafety requirements required by the COE.

In order to protect the health and safety of citizens, the National Transit Agency will monitor the operations of the Terminals and carriers.

In the next few days, in accordance with the fulfillment of the formal requirements, other Terrestrial Terminals of the Azuay province will be enabled.