Residents of the southern Caribbean communities of Puerto Viejo, Cocles, Manzanillo, and others are drumming up support for the creation of a safe, non-motorized trail for use by bicyclists, skateboarders and pedestrians to travel around the region. The online petition can be found at ipetitions.org, and local petition drives have been held in the region. "Bicycles in the South Caribbean of Co...

Costa Rica's red taxis have more than competing transportation services to worry about these days. All official taxis under new regulations were supposed to have new "talking" taxi meters up and running by July 1, said the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works (MOPT). According to the Public Transportation Council, only 8 percent of official taxis have the correct type of meter, but th...

The Costa Rican Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) announced the third phase of its solar conversion project, whose ultimate goal is to have all traffic lights running on solar power in the year 2022, said the institution in a press statement yesterday. This year, an additional 76 stop lights will have photovoltaic systems. The project has received US$1 million in funding from the Co...

The President of the Republic, Luis Guillermo Solis, and now-resigned Minister of Public Works and Transport (MOPT), Carlos Villalta, together with the Executive Director of the National Roadways Council (CONAVI), German Valverde, last week carried out an inspection of National Route N606, the road linking the Inter-American Highway with Monteverde. The windy, bumpy 17.5 kilometer stretch is at...

A decision this afternoon relating to Uber, Wednesday, June 14, by the Public Transport Council (CTP, its initials in Spanish) and the Public Services Regulatory Authority (Aresep, its initials in Spanish) has taxi drivers planning protests yet again. The authorities said they, "Have no legal competence to block the operation of private transportation ... in the country and that, therefore, the...

Monday, June 12, President Luis Guillermo Solís asked the Minister of Public Works and Transport Carlos Villalta to resign as a result of a domestic violence complaint filed against Villalta, allegedly by his former wife; reported the government press office. President Solís said to Villalta that, as a general principle, the government maintains absolute respect for laws against domestic violen...

Ever have your plans go awry due to the license plate restrictions that limit your movement in and around the downtown San José area? Well, the newly approved traffic regulations, which include stiffer fines for several infractions, and also provisions for cars being ticketed for parking in no-parking areas, also include a perk for eco-friendly vehicles. Vehicles considered eco-friendly - el...

The Solís government continues to work on delayed infrastructure projects throughout the country, and is moving forward with two bridges in the Drake area of the Osa Peninsula, the biodiversity hotspot in Costa Rica’s southern Pacific region and home to Corcovado National Park, said the president’s office this week. A program of the Office of the First Lady of the Republic called “Tejiendo Desa...

Starting this Saturday, June 3, urban passenger train service will be available Saturdays between Cartago and San José, announced the Costa Rican Railways Institute (INCOFER) this week. Saturdays, trains depart starting at 6:30 a.m from the Atlantic station in downtown San José and from the Cartago station, and from then on every hour on the half hour until 1:30 p.m. Tickets are ¢550 - less ...

This week Maureen Clarke Clarke, National Liberation Party legislator made a strong statement in the digital Costa Rican news outlet Elmundo.cr, saying, “Public transportation in Costa Rica is one of the biggest arenas of sexual violence against women.” She criticized the Solís administration for “not seeming to care,” about the situation which negatively impacts women’s quality of life and imp...

Costa Rica’s Ministry of Public Works and Transportation received a petition this week from the president of the Costa Rican Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO, Rocío Solís, requesting authorities consider raising the minimum age for a driver’s license to 21 in an effort to reduce road-related injuries and fatalities. Road transit laws in Costa Rica set the minimum age for obtaining a regul...

The Costa Rican Medical Professionals Association (Colegio de Médicos y Cirujanos) recently issued an alert to drivers in Costa Rica to avoid scams when getting the medical certificate required to obtain or renew a license. There have also been changes to the medical certificate procedures, as now all certifications are entered into a digital system. To avoid falling victim to a scam, and pa...

Finally! That’s what the vast majority of Costa Ricans exclaimed when the news was released that the bridge Alfredo González Flores, better known as “La Platina”, will finally open on Thursday, May 25. The bridge over the Virilla river in the General Cañas highway which connects San José to Alajuela, will open to allow normal transit on this date, some last detail work though, will have to be d...

According to the United States Embassy, there are currently 100,000 U.S. Citizens living in Costa Rica, 4,000 of them collecting their Social Security checks here – Baby Boomers in paradise. The Canadian Embassy reports 10,000 of their countrymen are currently residing in Costa Rica. Add to that the 1.5 million or so Anglophone tourists who visit Costa Rica annually, and you have one healthy po...

Well, two days after the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation announced no more closures on the revamped 'platina' bridge north of San José, they will be closing it after all this weekend - from 10 p.m. Saturday until no later than 5 p.m. Sunday, said MOPT officials. The road on both sides of the Virilla River needs to have storm drains installed, said officials, which means large machin...

Fatal road accidents have become a daily occurrence in Costa Rica, and it's no wonder many slogans and messages aimed at encouraging safe driving refer to the situation as a "war on our streets." This weekend was especially tragic with five young people dead in three separate accidents in just two days. Two children aged 5 and 8 died in the first accident, in Valle de Estrella, Limón, when t...

DHL Costa Rica recently donated bikes to 77 poor families in Guanacaste, Costa Rica’s northern Pacific coast province, reported the company. The event was designed to coincide with the recognition of 75 DHL Employee of the Year recipients, who were also featured at the bike ceremony. "Every year during the Employee of the Year celebration, we organize activities that reinforce the philosophy...

After taking a lot of flack for closures and delays, Costa Rican transportation officials announced one more total closure for the mega-overhaul of the Alfredo González Flores bridge spanning the Virilla River bridge along the General Cañas highway, the main artery into San José and to the international airport in Alajuela. The bridge will be completely closed starting Saturday, April 29 at 3 p...

If you want some extra income, and have a 4-door car no older than a year 2000 model, you can register at Nova to be a driver. The company is seeking applicants throughout Costa Rica's seven provinces. The driver phone/computer application will be released May 24, and the company says they plan to start offering services, complete with a legal services department for drivers, July 24, according...

The University of Costa Rica (UCR) will launch a project that seeks to revolutionize the transportation sector in Central America through a new computer application and a web page, announced the institution yesterday. The official launch will take place Friday, April 28, 2017 at the Wyndham Hotel at 8 a.m. At the event, the Caravana application will be officially presented to the Secretariat of...

Costa Rica’s state-owned Banco Nacional has taken steps to encourage employees to bicycle to work, reported the entity this week. The initiative, launched this year at the bank’s downtown main and La Uruca offices, includes a bike parking area, dressing rooms with showers, and lockers, said Carlos Abarca Rivera, deputy general manager of operations. This year 10 - 15 employees have been cycl...

The beginning of the rainy season will also bring the long-awaited opening of the completely overhauled main access bridge connecting San José with the international airport in Alajuela. After some unexpected recent delays, transportation officials said they estimated the new 6-lane Alfredo Gónzalez Flores bridge over the Virilla River would be fully ready and open by the end of May. Until t...

An ambitious proposal presented yesterday to Costa Rican transportation officials envisions a subway with three lines crossing the province of San José from east to west and from north to south, said the Federated College of Engineers and Architects (CFIA). The entity's pre-feasibility study was handed over to the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT); it would cost an estimated US...

This year's road fatalities among motorcyclists are showing a worrying increase over previous years, with an average of 15 motorcyclists having lost their lives on the roads every month so far this year, said the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT). From January 1 - March 31, 2017, 54 of the 126 road deaths, or 43 percent, were among motorcyclists, said the MOPT. Note that only t...

Recent weeks have seen an increase in actions targeting Uber drivers in the San José, Costa Rica metropolitan area - from tickets to removing their license plates, to occasional street scuffles. The ongoing uncertainty swirling about as to whether or not other types of taxi services are permitted to operate in Costa Rica has created a climate of tension in which "official taxis" have tended to ...

Drivers beware: The Water and Sewerage Department (AyA, its initials in Spanish) just started replacing potable water pipes in downtown San José. That means ripped up roads, and probably a bit of mayhem as traffic gets rerouted on the narrow and traffic-choked streets. It also will mean better quality water and an improved drinking water system. The city-wide infrastructure project is fairly ma...

Costa Rica’s northwestern county of La Cruz in the province of Guanacaste inaugurated a new road connecting various coastal communities which is the result of a novel cooperation between local businesses and government institutions. The project is expected to open further economic development in the remote, underdeveloped region. The National Roadways Council (Conavi) teamed up with Hotel Dream...

The Costa Rican comptroller’s office gave the green light last week to begin to adjudicate the remaining road widening works due to take place over the next two years along the stretch between San Antonio de Belén and Santa Ana (Route 147) to the west of San José, said the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. The expansion of the bridge along that highway will begin in April, and the larger ...

Transportation officials announced early today a slight delay in the planned opening of three of the completely overhauled “Platina” bridge’s eventual six lanes. The three lanes they had hoped to open today will be ready early next week, allowing more time for workers to fit and install the bridge’s five expansion joints, a very precise and time-consuming process, said Minister of Public Works ...

The new cars fair “Expomóvil” kicks off this Thursday and will extent through Sunday, March 26th at the Pedregal Event Center in San Antonio de Belén, Heredia. More than 20 cars and motorcycle agencies will take part in this fair, as well as 9 banking institutions. Entrance tickets will have a cost of ¢3,000.00 ($5.50 USD), and the same cost for parking. The fair will open Monday through Fr...

If you are planning a trip Thursday night from the Central Valley to Limón or nearby points on the Caribbean coast, beware that the tunnel on the main highway will be closed for repairs. The closure will be in effect for five hours, from 10:00 p.m. Thursday, March 16 until 3:00 a.m. Friday, March 17, said the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT).   A detailed evaluation...

While crossing bridges around San José used to just be time-consuming - it may be getting quicker, even though potentially more tongue-tying. The newly inaugurated, widened bridge connecting San José’s La Uruca with Heredia via Pozuelo-Jardines de Recuerdo has been named after Costa Rican writer Yolanda Oreamuno (1916-1956). Better not try out the pronunciation while navigating traffic, ther...

Meet the most recent player on the Costa Rican taxi scene: Nova Transportes, a 100 percent locally owned business. The company is recruiting drivers, and also clients, on its Facebook page, and says it will accept car models from 2000 on. The newly formed Costa Rican company, Nova Transportes, is basing its model on Uber, and will begin operating in the second half of this year, said the com...

According to the testimony of a victim, a taxi driver from San José thought he was an Uber driver and tried to attack him, the victim who turned out to be a bodyguard, took out his gun to defend himself. This situation occurred some days back, apparently the taxi driver started following him, the bodyguard noticed the situation and parked his car, at which point the cab driver got out of his c...

When is the last time you texted while driving or answered an urgent call before pulling over? Living in Costa Rica, without the ease of finding shoulders on main roads, maneuvering overcrowded streets, and dealing with harried schedules, we are all guilty of texting while driving on occasion. It is no secret that taking your eyes off the road while driving, even for a fraction of a second, ...

The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) is moving forward with a project that will improve road safety at 91 railroad crossings along the three San José metropolitan train lines of Pavas-San José-Curridabat, Heredia-San José, and San José-Cartago, said the agency this week. Carlos Villalta, Transportation Minister, explained that three offers were received from different companie...

Amidst increasing traffic accidents and road-related fatalities, Costa Rican police are calling on drivers to always, and correctly, use safety seats for children. A safety device is required for all children in a private vehicle under the age of twelve in Costa Rica, said the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT, in Spanish), who said in January this year 69 drivers were fined for...

Costa Rica is slowly digging its way out of decades of delays in infrastructure improvements, one of the main priorities of the current Solís administration. Along these lines, much needed improvements to another Virilla River bridge, this one on the heavily transited highway connecting Belén to Santa Ana, will begin at the end of March, and last an expected 13 months. Ministry of Public Wor...

By Wendy Anders Costa Rica’s Ombudsman's Office has given the Ministry of Public Education (MEP) a timeline to insure their compliance with across-the-board road safety educational programs in all of the country’s schools, from pre-school on up, said the Defensoría de Los Habitantes this week (The Defender of the Inhabitants or National Ombudsman’s Office). The country’s traffic and road saf...

By Wendy Anders Last week the Costa Rican Ministry of Finance and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement this month for US$280,000 to support mechanisms for managing public works programs in the country. The donation is designed to support the Costa Rican government as they adopt technical, legal, administrative and procedural reforms. Specific out...