August 18, 2025. The Cartagena City Hall, headed by Mayor Dumek Turbay Paz, launched a public call for proposals for the purchase of 55 new buses for Transcaribe, of which 49 will be powered by natural gas vehicles (NGV) and 6 will be electric.
The investment in articulated vehicles, standard buses, and minibuses, which will strengthen the mass transit system for Cartagena residents, will total 70 billion pesos, thereby improving the service offered to the more than 110,000 residents and visitors who travel daily.
Turbay Paz assured that Transcaribe will continue to be a system powered by clean energy and contribute to reducing atmospheric emissions.
With this fleet acquisition, the Mayor’s Office of Cartagena and Transcaribe will be able to create new routes and expand coverage of the Integrated Mass Transportation System (SITM), as well as strengthen existing routes to improve service and capacity and reduce wait times.
“Through Transcaribe Operador, we expect the district’s fleet to reach 254 buses by 2026 with the purchase of 100 more buses. We are already prioritizing resources for this fleet so that, by 2027, before the end of our term, Transcaribe Operador will have a truly massive fleet of more than 300 units in optimal condition with eventual purchases. And our eventual entry into private sector operations will allow us to reach numbers of around 550 buses in good condition,” said Mayor Dumek Turbay.
For her part, Ercilia Barrios Flórez, Manager of Transcaribe, thanked the Cartagena leader for making Transcaribe one of his government priorities and for providing them with “all the tools so that the system, as well as the city, can continue to recover its brilliance and splendor.”
