Paraguay’s Vice Ministry of Transport (VMT) started fining public transport operators on Tuesday that are not in compliance with the Integrated Control and Monitoring System (SICM). The information was confirmed by VMT project director Hugo Ramos.
From January until the day before, an “adjustment phase” was in effect, during which companies could adapt to the new requirements without facing penalties. Now the project enters a punitive phase, with fines set out in VMT Resolution No. 120.
The SICM operates using GPS data and the electronic ticketing system of buses in circulation. The collected information is compared with historical data from previous days or similar periods. “It is easier to see whether fewer buses are running compared with the companies’ historical records. It is a system; there is no manual intervention by a person,” Ramos explained.
The system automatically analyzes operator performance based on location data and fare validations. Companies can track their compliance percentage in real time to make more precise operational decisions and improve their performance, according to the VMT.