The Minister of Transportation of the province of Buenos Aires, Jorge D’Onofrioaffirmed this Friday that during a meeting held on Thursday at the Puente 12 Monitoring Center, “the workers recognized that there were people who were not drivers” in the protest that took place for the murder of the bus driver Daniel Barrientoscarried out last Monday at the intersection of General Paz and Juan Bautista Alberdi avenues, in which the head of the provincial security portfolio, the military Sergio Berni.
In addition, he stressed that “the most important thing” of the meeting was that “a work table was set up in which all the claims and situations will be received to find a joint response” to the problem of insecurity in the motor transport service public passenger service, which will be launched next Monday, according to what was announced last night by the governor Axel Kicillof.
“The workers recognized some issues and also that there were some people who were not drivers. That made the moment much more itchy ”pointed out the head of Transport in statements to The Uncover Radio.
In this way, the official referred to the attacks that Berni received during the protest in repudiation of the death of Barrientos, in which the official received fist blows, stones and was injured. D’Onofrio, who was with Berni during the attack, maintained that on Thursday “the meeting that was cut short last Monday was completed.”
“That day we were going to make ourselves available and offer solidarity to the collective workers who had lost a colleague. We also wanted to see how security could continue to be strengthened. Yesterday the meeting was possible and it was on good terms,” remarked the minister about the meeting that he and Berni held with bus drivers and trade union delegates from the Automotive Tramway Union (UTA) the Puente 12 Monitoring Center.
In this regard, the leader of the Frente Renovador (FR) highlighted that “The most important thing about the meeting is that a work table was set up in which all the claims and situations will be received to find a joint response”.
“Since yesterday they (unionists and Buenos Aires police officers) have been working to establish fixed points and mobile points in some neighborhoods, where the bus drivers indicated that it is more dangerous to circulate,” continued D’Onofrio. Likewise, he announced that “this table, on Monday, will define which are the most critical points so that the Police can reinforce security there.”
“This table will be working every 15 days to adjust the future of this action that we will have to carry out,” said the Buenos Aires Executive official.
Regarding the installation of security cameras inside the buses, D’Onofrio recalled: “Last Monday we met with the Governor at Government House to discuss this issue and the goal is to find a solution as quickly as possible. possible”.
In a chronology on the decision to put cameras in urban passenger transport units, he explained that “in 2016, law 14,897 was voted in the province, which establishes the installation of cameras and anti-panic buttons in units” of public transport of passengers.
“It is a law that Sergio Berni had promoted when he was a Buenos Aires senator and then another initiative was added by a legislator from the then ruling party (Let’s change). At that time, the norm came out unanimously, ”he added.
D’Onofrio cited that “just in 2018 and after the death of the bus driver, Leandro Alcarazin an act of insecurity that occurred in La Matanza, the then governor (Maria Eugenia) Vidal regulated that law that said that the transport companies had to take charge of the cost of the equipment and installation of the cameras in the units”. “This law gave 180 to companies to install them, but this was not fulfilled during the rest of Vidal’s administration,” questioned the minister.
And he pointed out that “after the pandemic, Kicillof took up this issue again and the companies told him that they cannot afford to install cameras.” For this reason, through a decree, the governor “ordered that the Buenos Aires State put the money for these cameras, so that this fee will also be paid with the monthly settlement of the subsidy.”
“The figure of 2,700 million pesos has already been reached. The total was not paid because we are in a process, but reality indicates that we would have to have more than 50 percent of the units with cameras, but we are just reaching 25 percent of the bus park. We are going to talk about this issue with the businessmen -next Monday together with Kicillof- because the money was sent and they will have to render an account”, observed D’onofrio
For the minister, “the governor’s concern now is not who is to blame but how to solve the problem and that all the cameras are installed and can transmit because at the time they could not do so because they had a 3G chip.”
In this regard, he pointed out that during yesterday’s meeting “Berni showed the bus drivers how the cameras that are already installed with a 4G chip work in real time”. “The idea is to establish a work schedule as quickly as possible because the objective is not to put a noose around the neck of the companies, but to find a solution quickly,” she said.
Regarding the money transferred to the transport companies that have not installed the cameras, he considered that “without losing sight of the funds that were given to the companies for that purpose, a loan from Banco Provincia could be given to resolve the issue. This is one of many ideas that we are looking at,” he explained.
When referring to the companies that have collected that specific subsidy and did not invest the money in this regard, D’Onofrio described this action as “embezzlement” of funds. At the end, he clarified: “The companies know that they are missing, but what we are looking for now is that the cameras are installed in all the groups.”
