Transcriollo is the public transportation reform that changed the provision of transit service in Caguas, Puerto Rico. With a declining ridership base and diminishing service, Caguas was losing its status as the transit hub of the Central Eastern Region of Puerto Rico. Public transportation services were characterized by long and unpredictable waiting times, short service spans, deteriorated vehicles and customer complaints. In 2010, MTCG planners and transportation engineers teamed up with the Planning Office and the Urban Mobility Office of the Municipality of Caguas to design and plan Transcriollo. The first stage of Transcriollo initiated in October 2011 with the introduction of service contracts for the regulation and standardization of transportation service provision across local and intercity routes. The first stage of Transcriollo has incorporated more than 170 transit operators across 30 routes and has resulted in an increase of 15 percent in ridership during its first year of operation. The cost of the first stage of Transcriollo was approximately $2 million.
Transcriollo was achieved by careful analysis of the population’s travel patterns, an appropriate assessment of the state of existing public transportation services and early and continuous involvement of public transportation providers and the traveling population in the planning process. To date, Transcriollo has become one of the models in the public transportation industry of collaboration of private providers of public transportation with public sector officials to achieve an effective and efficient provision of public transportation in Puerto Rico. In 2011, Transcriollo was nominated as Outstanding Project of the Year by the College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico (CIAPR).