Flecha Roja buses were pressed into service by students this week.Bus service became complicated for travelers — and the bus companies themselves — after students hijacked as many as 60 buses in México state, leaving passengers in the lurch after they were forced off the vehicles.
Students of the Lázaro Cárdenas Normal School, a teacher training college in San José Tenería, have stolen 46 buses from the transportation company Flecha Roja and another 14 from Línea TEO.
It is believed the buses were stolen in order for the students to attend Wednesday’s Mexico City march to commemorate the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre.
Students began by taking 32 buses from Flecha Roja on Tuesday, but appeared to need more by Thursday when they stole another 14. At that point, Flecha Roja had to suspend service on its Mexico City-Santiago Tianguistenco route, and more suspensions soon followed.
“We don’t know their true motive, but they stopped the buses while en route and forced the passengers off, and the situation is getting complicated, that’s why we’ve decided to suspend routes,” said Flecha Roja legal representative Enrique Quintana.
Buses were also stolen on routes between Mexico City and Ixtapan de la Sal, Tenango del Valle, Chalma and Xalatlaco, all in México state.
Normal school students have hijacked buses for many years to meet their transportation needs.
Sources: El Sol de Toluca (sp), Publimetro (sp)
