Inter-provincial bus fares could rise 25%; Cuenca is most expensive city; More tranvía cards are on order; Oodles of ‘Noodles’ removed from utility polls

Bored? – (De El Mercurio del miércoles, 15/7) Tres imanes turísticos tiene el norte peruano (Three tourist attractions in northern Peru) – The Peruvian government launched the Feria Binacional Perú-Ecuador “Dos países, un solo destino” in Cuenca. The feria will be from el 24-26/7 starting at 9:00 in the malecón in the Zorritos district in Tumbes. The event will be free to the public and include public institutions, tourism operators, crafts and craftspeople from both counties to promote tourism, commerce and investment in the frontier zone. At the event, there will be the official launch of the whale watching season, the Festival de Ceviche, exhibits, gastronomy and crafts, space for businesses, and artistic shows and expressions of culture from both Perú and Ecuador. The city has run out of prepaid tranvía cards and is awaiting an order of 26,000 new cards. Ridership of the tram has surged in recent months, the city reports. Curious? – (De El Mercurio del miércoles, 15/7) Centro de simulación para futuros médicos (Simulation center for future doctors) – The U. del Azuay (UDA) has opened the simLAB Learning Space UDA, a clinical simulation and practice center for training medical students. The center replicates medical situations with different levels of complexity. The equipment includes 220 simulations of 60 different types in 3 levels of difficulty. The lowest level allows development of basic skills such as manual techniques on anatomic dummies. The medium level incorporates software that reproduces heart or lung sounds and other clinical signs. The highest level uses robotic systems to reproduce vital signs; to respond to medications and clinical maneuvers; show physiological changes; and allow students to make decisions in emergency simulations similar to those encountered in a hospital. Marco Palacios, dean of the Medical School, explained that simLAB prepares doctors to respond to the main causes of illness and death in the country without leaving prevention and promotion of health aside. Another component of the model is debriefing, an analysis after each simulation, where professors and students review the decisions taken, identify successes, analyze errors, and propose alternative courses of action. (De El Mercurio del jueves, 16/7) Catálogo digital conecta a comprador con productor (Digital catalog connects buyers with producers) – The digital catalog, “Del productor a Tus Manos” is a platform offering over 500 products from about 200 agricultural producers and organizatios that will facilitate direct contact with buyers. Through the Pidara portal, users can see what is available, the production capacity, the location, certifications, the reference price, and availability of each product. The platform will also have contact information for each producer. Producers interested in becoming part of this platform should contact the Registro Nacional Agropecuario (RNA). (De El Mercurio del jueves, 16/7) Cuenca tiene canasta más cara del Ecuador (Cuenca has the most expensive cost of living in Ecuador) – From mayo to junio, the cost of living in Cuenca rose $5.36/mo. to $876.71. This is the highest in the country where the national average is $824.25. Year over year inflation in Ecuador was 1.54% in junio, 2026. The monthly inflation rate was 0.79% after a drop of 0.62% in mayo. The biggest increases were in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel (0.36%), transportation (0.28%), and recreation and culture (0.06%). (De El Mercurio del viernes, 17/7) En la espera, stock de 5,800 tarjetas: Tranvía (Pending: 5,800 cards in stock: Tram) – Until mayo, 2026, tranvía cards were sold normally. However, an inconveniente (inconvenience/ snag/ problem – your word for the day) in the process in the Public Purchasing Portal caused the available stock to run out with only a 5,800 available for people in vulnerable situations. The Municipal Tranvía Department is in a new process to get about 26,000 cards, but the process was suspended by the Servicio Nacional de Contratación Pública (Sercop – National Public Procurement Service) after one of the providers didn’t comply with the requested added-value requirement. After the delay, a contract was signed with a different company to buy 5,800 cards. Until this new lot arrives, riders without a card need to pay $1.00 per trip or use a mobile app tied to participating banks. The city reports tranvía ridership continues to grow, with most units providing standing-room only during peak periods. The addition of more rolling stock as well as extensions to the system are under consideration. (De El Mercurio del viernes, 17/7) Centrosur identifica a 104 cableoperadoras (Centrosur has identified 104 cable operators) – La Empresa Eléctrica Regional Centro Sur removed unused cables in Santa Isabel canton yesterday as part of the “Adios Tallarines” (Goodbye Noodles) campaign. Diego Morales, executive president of Centrosur said that 104 cable operators in the concession area have been identified. In this operation, Centrosur, along with personnel from 10 cable operators, identified and labeled active cables, and removed those not in service. (De El Mercurio del viernes, 17/7) Retención de vehículo reabre debate de Uber (Vehicle impoundment reopens debate over Uber) – During a Tránsito operation, a vehicle driven by a woman providing Uber service was seized. The vehicle was taken to the impound lot since the driver did not have the permit to offer this service. The seizure caused other people to go to the lot and complain about the way the vehicle was taken and the treatment of the driver. After the incident, other Uber drivers complained, and the debate reopened with the question “Should it be regulated?” The use of Uber is not prohibited in Cuenca, nor other applications that offer private transport such as InDrive or Cabify. What is prohibited is offering services without a permit issued by the City of Cuenca. Without this permit, EMOV EP can apply sanctions including retention of the vehicle for 8 days, a fine of 2 Salarios Básicos Unificados or $964.00, and loss of 10 points from the offender’s driver’s license. (De El Mercurio del sábado, 18/7) Tarjetas de bus serán solo de uso personal (Bus cards will be for personal use only) – With the agreement between the City of Cuenca and the 7 urban bus companies, the implementation of the 12 points on the Improvement plan will start. As part of the agreement, the City will subsidize $.10 per passenger, an increase from 4 cents which was the subsidy from noviembre, 2021 to junio of 2026. In exchange, riders will need to personalize the Movilízate card which will be personal to each rider. This means that a rider can’t share the card with family members or other passengers. As of el 15/8/2026, all users should to use a personalized card to ride the bus. Alfredo Aguilar, coordinator of Movilidad del Municipio de Cuenca said that riders will continue to pay $.30 with students, seniors, and disabled passengers continuing to pay $.15. He said that 93% of cards have already been personalized. After el 15/8, if the same card is used consecutively by another person, the 2nd ride will cost $.40, and to use the card again and get the $.30 fare, there will be a minimum 10-minute wait. Juan Bustillos, a frequent bus rider, said that the operators should comply with the improvement promises before they can get the increased subsidy. He listed basic aspects that still haven’t been met such as putting the number of the bus on the back Bustillos also said that drivers should stop correctly at the stops and not in the middle of the street; and that the companies should hire more drivers to avoid long shifts which affect service quality. He added that the increase in fuel prices don’t justify the fare increases and pointed out that the reduction in the number of passengers in recent years is a response to the deficiencies in the bus system. (De El Mercurio del sábado, 18/7) Yaku Pérez analiza posible candidatura a la Alcaldía (Yaku Pérez considers a possible mayoral run) – The Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE) is accepting applications until midnight today (Sábado) for political alliances for the interim elections in noviembre, 2026. One of the possibilities is an application from Yaku Pérez Guartambel to run for Mayor of Cuenca. He said he is evaluating the decision after receiving support from various sectors. Other pre-candidates include Pedro Palacios, Paúl Carrasco, Marcelo Cabrera, Leonardo Ordónez, and Juan Cristóbal Lloret, the current prefect. (De El Mercurio del sábado, 18/7) Proponen alza del 25% en pasajes de interprovinciales (Proposal for a 25% increase in interprovincial fares) – As of el 1/8, fares on intra and inter-provincial buses could increase by 25%. Luis Darío Villacrés, executive director of the Agencia Nacional de Tránsito (ANT), said that the possible adjustment will take into account that the last fare revision was in mayo, 2021 when diesel was $1.20 y pico (“and something” – your bonus word for the day) and not subject to the current price band system. The Ley de Tránsito says that fares should be reviewed every 2 years, but that hasn’t been done, as well as the cost of diesel, which is currently $3.20 y pico. El Mercurio asked for more information and was told that the institution is in the process of publicizing but hasn’t made any decision. _________________ Information in this column, including dates, times and locations, is courtesy of the El Mercurio newspaper. Comments between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), are the personal opinions of the author and not part of the news translation. The post Inter-provincial bus fares could rise 25%; Cuenca is most expensive city; More tranvía cards are on order; Oodles of ‘Noodles’ removed from utility polls appeared first on CuencaHighLife.