Ground Transportation

Foreign Tourist Drivers Licenses in Costa Rica Have Been Extended Until June 1st

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica While unofficial at this writing, MOPT (Costa Rica Ministry of Public Works and Transportation) has issued a recent communication. The validity of foreign drivers’ licenses for TOURISTS with valid visas has been extended to June 1, 2021. This is in keeping with the recent TOURIST visa extensions from March 2, 2021, to June 1, 2021. The offici...

Costa Rica Marchamo 2021 Marchamo Amount Reduced in Costa Rica

This Monday, November 2nd the National Insurance Institute (INS) began charging the 2020 Marchamo, the vehicle’s circulation permit, similar to the registration payment in the United States; this tax must be paid by December 31st for the 2021 period, otherwise, drivers risk getting a ticket and will have to pay a late fee. There is a total of 1,568,375 vehicles registered in the country. Tak...

Costa Rica Transit Restriction Change in Weekend Vehicular Transit Restrictions in Costa Rica

The government announced this Thursday, October 15 that as of this weekend the vehicular transit restriction will continue only by schedule and not by plate number. All plates will be allowed to transit on Saturdays and Sundays from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. The measure will go into effect this weekend, October 17. Authorities had also announced earlier this month an extended schedule to visit beac...

Costa Rica Coronavirus, Restrictions, Updated Information Costa Rica Covid-19 and Restrictions Update

Saturday August 22nd Costa Rica entered the reopening phase even though over the the past couple of days it has registered the highest number of new daily confirmed Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic. On Friday the country registered 1,059 new cases while Saturday the Ministry of Health confirmed 950 new patients. Since the pandemic reached the country back in March, Costa Rica has ...

Costa Rica Riteve Cars With Plates Ending on 5 or 6 Will Have an Additional Month to Get RITEVE

The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) informed that the owners of cars which plates end on 5 or 6 will have an additional month to comply with the technical inspection (RITEVE). This resolution was already signed by Minister Rodolfo Méndez Mata, who explained that it is part of the measures adopted by MOPT and the Costa Rican Road Safety Council (COSEVI) to normalize the assist...

Costa Rica Covid19 New Restrictions in Costa Rica Will be in Place April 13-30

Costa Rica has 577 cases of Covid-19 confirmed as of Saturday March 11th, the government has announced it will be placing additional restrictions on vehicular traffic until April 30. Beginning on April 13, there will be a complete nighttime restriction from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. every day. When it comes to daytime restrictions, during the weekdays the restriction will be from 5 a.m. and 7 p.m., v...

Costa Rica Uber Over 971,000 People Use UBER in Costa Rica

Uber Costa Rica has continued its growth over the years despite the opposition of red taxi drivers and the lack of proper regulation. The company announced that since it began operations in Costa Rica in August 2015 it has accumulated over 971,000 users and 28,000 drivers. “The platform represent an important source of additional income for over 28,000 associates and their families that have f...

Costa Rica Train Puntarenas Costa Rica Plans the Reactivation of Train to Puntarenas

Ministry of Planning and Economic Policy (MIDEPLAN) gave the Costa Rican Train Institute (INCOFER) t total of over $560 thousand dollars to carry out the necessary feasibility studies of the or the project of reconstruction of 131 kilometers of train track between Alajuela and Puntarenas. “The reactivation of the Train to the Pacific” is one of the key projects of Incofer framed within the I...

Costa Rica Fast Passenger Train CABEI Gives Costa Rica Loan to Build Fast Passenger Train

The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) granted Costa Rica a loan of $550 million to support the construction, equipment and start of operations of the Fast Passenger Train for the Great Metropolitan Area. The total cost of the project is estimated on $1,297 million, the balance would come from private companies through public-private alliance, the government will carry out ...

Costa Rica Panama Binational Bridge Bridge Connecting Panama and Costa Rica Shows 56% Advance

The bridge connecting Panama and Costa Rica known as the “Sixaola Binational Bridge” was supposed to be ready in May this year, this did not happen, but the bridge shows an advance of 56%. The move of border posts of each country was already completed, migration, customs, police and supervision of vegetables and animals commerce as well as the dismantling of the old train structure. The new ...

La Amistad Bridge Costa Rica Maintenance Will Force Closure of La Amistad Bridge in Guanacaste Costa Rica for two Months

The National Roads Authority (CONAVI) is planning the closure of La Amistad Bridge over the Tempisque river which connects the Guanacaste counties of Cañas and Nicoya. The closure obeys to the need to do maintenance and repair works and will require the closure of the structure for at least two months and an investment of over one million dollars. Helmut Wenzel, original designer of the stru...

Costa Rica Uber US Embassy in Costa Rica Alerts of Possible Demonstrations by Uber Drivers

This past Wednesday taxi drivers protested on the streets once again demanding sanctions against Uber and actions against this company and the drivers that work for it. Traffic police carried out operations at the Juan Santamaria Airport against Uber drivers also in response to protest by airport taxi drivers. Now the U.S. Embassy has received credible information that individual Uber driver...

Riteve's Costa Rican Contract renewed for 10 more years Transit Police in Costa Rica Will Use Mobile Units to Carry Out Car Technical Inspections on the Road

The Transit Police in Costa Rica is now operating equipment acquired and provided by the Technical Vehicle Inspection company (RITEVE) with the purpose of improving road safety. The mobile units will be used on the streets with the purpose of checking gas emissions, and the general conditions of the vehicles, tires, lights, breaks, just as it is done on vehicles every year. It is mandator...

Costa Rica Uber Uber Gives Its Position on Costa Rican Government Plan to Legalize its Operations

Yesterday after the Government of Costa Rica presented a bill to the Legislative Assembly to legalize Uber and similar platforms allowing them to coexist with regular cab services, Uber analyzed the proposal and stated its position in this regard. According to Uber ¨the vision of the government is far from being a proposal that promotes innovation, competition and development of technology¨ ...

Costa Rica Taxis vs Uber Government of Costa Rica to Legalize Uber

Tuesday January 22nd The Costa Rican Government presented a law project to Congress that would legalize Uber and similar platforms allowing them to coexist with regular cab services. According to the Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Rodolfo Méndez Mata, Costa Rica must accept the reality of the new technologies and economic models that are already regulated in other parts of the wor...

Costa Rica Train New Security Devices Ready at 23 Railroad Crossings in Costa Rica – 1 Damaged by Car the Same Day

The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) in Costa Rica inaugurated this Monday, December 18, new security devices in 23 railroad crossings in sectors of San Jose and Cartago. The safety barriers and traffic lights at the railroad crossways have the purpose of offering additional prevention and security for drivers, warning them in a more efficient manner of the presence of the tr...

Costa Rica Festival de la Luz 2018 Roads Closures in San Jose This Weekend for the Festival de la Luz Preparations

The already traditional Festival de la Luz or Festival of Light will take place this Satuday, December 15; for this reason the transit authorities and the Municipality have already started their work to set up all the infrastructure and will be closing some roads since the early hours of Saturday. The works to install the platforms and bleachers began the evening of this Wednesday in Paseo Colo...

Costa Rica Electric Train Costa Rican Government Completes Purchase of Electric Trains from Chinese Company

The Costa Rican Train Institute (INCOFER) announced today that they have already approved the purchase of 8 new trains from the factory, CRRC Quingdao Sigang Co., Ltd. company that was awarded the bid. The awarding was carried out under the figure of successive direct negotiation, in accordance to Article 19 of the Special Regimen Regulation of Administrative Contracting, Law 9366. These ...

Costa Rica Traffic Jam Costa Rica is the Third Country in Latin America With Highest Car Density

Only behind Argentina and Mexico, Costa Rica takes the third place in Latin America when it comes to car density, with an average 231 cars per 1000 inhabitants, according to information published by the State of the Nation 2018 report. Argentina has a vehicle density of 315 and Mexico 278. The traffic problems in the Great Metropolitan Area (GAM) of Costa Rica are not news to anyone; in the pas...

Costa Rica Stop Light Solar Power More Traffic Lights Will Start Operating With Solar Power in Costa Rica

The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) and the Costa Rican Road Safety Council (COSEVI) had announced last year the plan to operate the entire Centralized Traffic System with the use of solar power, this system consists of 474 intersections with traffic lights located in San Jose, Cartago, Heredia and Alajuela, the project has now entered its fourth stage. In this new stage, p...

Costa Rica Traffic Jam Costa Rica’s State Refinery Will Start Mixing Gasoline with Ethanol as of May 2019

Costa Rica’s state refinery, RECOPE, announced they will be mixing the “super” gasoline with ethanol as of May 2019. According to Alejandro Muñoz, president of RECOPE, the plan is to include a 10% of alcohol per liter of super gas; at a later date, the “regular” or “plus” gas will also be mixed. Ethanol or alcohol is naturally produced by the fermentation of sugars by yeasts via petrochemic...

Costa Rica Electric Train National Train Institute Announces Start of Feasibility Stage for Electric Train in Costa Rica

The Costa Rican Government announced important advances in the process of construction of an Electric Train in the Great Metropolitan Area, which is starting its feasibility stage, this project has received a donation of $1 million dollars from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. The plan is that the Electric Train connects the main cities of the four provinces of the Great Metr...

Costa Rica Electric Vehicles Stations Costa Rican Governments Exonerates Used Electric Vehicles to Promote Their Use

The Costa Rican Government announced a package of decrees and a directive to promote the use of electric cars. At the beginning of this year the Government approved the Electric Transportation Bill which established several tax exemptions on new electric cars of even 100% depending on the cost of the same. This new decree benefits those that want to buy used electric cars of no more than 5 ...

Bike Lane Limon Costa Rica Neighbors of Limon Promote Creation of Bike Lane From Hone Creek to Manzanillo

A group of neighbors from the South Caribbean known as CicloVida presented a proposal to the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation for the creation of a bike line of almost 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from Hone Creek to Manzanillo in route 256. The group started promoting this project in August of 2017, as an option to create a safe area for cyclists to transit this area, in communities kn...

Costa Rica San Carlos Road Bridge Connecting San Ramon and La Fortuna Collapses, Road Closed

The bridge over the San Lorenzo River which connects San Ramon to San Carlos in the Alajuela province collapsed because of the heavy rains that have affected this area in the past day, the bridge is closed for indefinite time. This is a common route for those traveling to La Fortuna in San Carlos, the Ministry of Public Works (MOPT) will be evaluating the damages on this bridge and other parts ...

Costa Rica General Strike Taxis Taxi Drivers Join General Strike in Costa Rica and Cause Traffic Chaos in Alajuela Highway

Taxi drivers joined the general strike today and are protesting by doing “tortuguismo”, basically driving slow enough so as to cause congestion in different sectors of the country, causing many transit problems, mainly in the General Cañas highway (Alajuela-San Jose). Messages of angry drivers are flooding social media channels complaining against the red cabs and their practice, which is affec...

Costa Rica Electric Vehicles Stations Costa Rica Inaugurates First Fast Charging Station for Electric Vehicles

The National Power and Light Company (CNFL) inaugurated the first fast charge station for electric vehicles in Costa Rica. This new station, located in the facilities of the CNFL in Escazu, is actually the first fast charge station in the Central American region, and it has the capacity to charge the battery of an electric vehicle up to an 80% in 30 minutes. According to the CNFL this is ju...

Costa Rica Strike Roadblocks Group of Travelers Had to Walk to the Juan Santamaria Airport due to Roadblocks

Photo Credit: La Nacion/Shirley Vásquez Even though this Tuesday public institutions in Costa Rica report having been less affected than yesterday by the general labor strike, and a very low percentage of employees that joined the movement, some areas and people were still affected throughout the day mainly due to protesters marching in the middle of the roads. One of roads affected was the ...

Bike Lanes Costa Rica Smart Bike Rental System Could Soon Operate in Costa Rica

The company SGSV presented its proposal of a smart bike rental system for Costa Rica in the last Smart City Congress that was organized by the Costa Rican Electricity Institute; the system, that currently operates in more than 35 cities in the world, would take advantage of the existing bike lanes that exist in different parts of the country and would facilitate urban mobility by connecting with b...

Costa Rica Roadworks $4.6 Billion Will Be Invested in Road Works in Costa Rica to Reactivate National Economy

The Costa Rican Government informed of an aggressive plan of investment on road infrastructure for a total of $4.6 billion that will cover urgent work and county road projects along the entire territory. The Government also announced the strengthening and expansion of the model of works by concession with an investment of over $8.5 million which includes the reinforcement of the National Conce...

Costa Rica Bridge More than 40 Vehicles With Flat Tires Today Due to Damage on Juan Pablo II Bridge in La Uruca *Update: Fixed!

Thursday September 6th a metal beam section of the bridge (referred to as "La platina" in Costa Rica) of the Juan Pablo II bridge on the General Cañas highway connecting San Jose and Alajuela, detached, leaving pins uncovered that caused more than 40 vehicles to end up with flat tires. The problem is on the road from San Jose to Alajuela, the Traffic Police are already in the area informing dri...

Costa Rica Uber Costa Rican Government Urges UBER to Stop Operating in the Country

The Government of Costa Rica presented a formal request that “urges” Uber and all other similar technological platforms that enable public transportation service in the country to “abandon its operation in the country until a revision or modernization of the existing legal frame that regulates the remunerated transportation of people is completed”. This was the response of the government to the...

Costa Rica road Accident Road Accidents Claim 293 Victims So Far This 2018 in Costa Rica

So far in 2018, 293 people have died in Costa Rica because of road accidents, a number that concerns the transit authorities that have seen three months that have exceeded 40 deaths and August could be the fourth. The month of June registered the most deaths with 45; while the month of August through this past Monday, accounted for 37 deaths. According to transit authorities most of the acci...

Road to Monteverde Study Reveals Materials Being Used on Road to Monteverde are Not the Quality Agreed to in the Contract

The National Laboratory of Materials and Structural Models of the University of Costa Rica (LanammeUCR) presented a report warning that the materials being used for the construction of national route 606 to Monteverde “do not comply with the technical specifications established in the contract”. LanammeUCR completed a series of studies and laboratory tests that detected the breach in the agreem...

Underpass Costa Rica Roadworks in Different Areas of the Great Metropolitan Area Will Complicate Traffic Even More in Costa Rica

The Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Rodolfo Méndez Mata, affirmed that this administration will continue working, as promised, in the elimination of several bottlenecks in the great metropolitan area; however, this means more traffic jams while the works are completed. At the end of July, the government announced the beginning of the works in the roundabout known as “Rotonda de las...

Lindora Bridge Virilla Virilla-Lindora (Road From Santa Ana-Belen) Bridge Inaugurated Today

After 14 months users of the route that connects San Antonio de Belen, Heredia with Lindora, Santa Ana, San Jose, have one less traffic jam to worry about on this route as the bridge over the Virilla River was inaugurated today. The bridge went from having two lanes to four, and it’s the first step in the expansion of this route, commonly known as the “Radial Santa Ana -Belen” and through which...

Costa Rica Hydrogen Scientist Franklin Chang Asks that Costa Rica Doesn’t Close the Door to Hydrogen Transportation

Costa Rican physicist, mechanical engineer and former NASA astronaut Franklin Chang Díaz stated during the I International Hydrogen Forum that took place in Costa Rica this Monday that he wants the country to give hydrogen technologies an opportunity as a tool to transform the transportation sector in one with less contamination. “We don’t want Costa Rica to close the doors to this technology. ...

Costa Rica Route 32 Route 32 (San Jose-Limon) Temporarily Closed Due to Mudslides

The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) announced this Sunday evening the temporary closure of Route 32 which connects San Jose to Limon due to a mudslide in kilometer 30. According to the information shared, the road is completely closed and for now they do not have an estimated time on when it will reopen, “we will inform tomorrow of the hour it will reopen, once the road is cl...

Costa Rica Train Cartago Will be The First Province in Costa Rica to Have Safer Railroad Crossings

The train's in Costa Rica are constantly involved in different accidents, during the first semester of 2018,  7 people died because of accidents with the train, 3 of them as a result of collisions and 4 that were ran over, in general, the country registers close to 100 mishaps involving the train every year. The causes of the accidents are many, some are due to lack of proper signs and infrastr...

Electric Cars Costa Rica Electric Cars Still Stuck in Customs in Costa Rica Despite Approval of Electric Transportation Bill Months Ago

It has been over seven months since the Electric Transportation Bill was approved by the Legislative Assembly in Costa Rica and six months since it went officially in effect , yet, car agencies in Costa Rica are still having problems getting the tax exemptions applied and the vehicles out of customs. Back in February, Aduanas (customs) informed them they had to wait for the official regulations...