PRESIDENT Juan Carlos Varela, and users of Panama’s Metro bus system are united in their concern at the signs of the return of diablos rojos (red devils) to the streets of the capital city and the highways leading to it.

The diablos rojos are school buses declared unserviceable in the US, and purchased by local entrepreneurs to provide public transportation. Currently importation is banned for public transport services, but some are slipping in for alleged use as school buses, and opeerators who were paid $25,000 and upwards to get their old wrecks off the road are re-investing, as transport pirates.                                                   
Diablos  Rojos drivers  have a long, unenviable record of accidents, killings and injuries of passengers, pedestrians, and operators as they have charged through the streets searching for passengers with a pavo (turkey) standing on the step yelling out destinations. In one bizarre case the pavo was decapitated during a race between two buses.
The arrival of the Metro buses with its training programs for drivers who now have a guaranteed salary, uniforms, social security, paid vacations and a performance bonus, was supposed to end the infamous record of death, pollution and noise and horrendous driving habits
When the first generation of squeaky clean new air-conditioned Volvo buses arrived there were favorable reviews from all sectors of society, particularly other road users. The smartly uniformed bus drivers were giving signals when pulling out from bus stops or changing lanes, they were not treating the streets as a training ground for Fotmula 1 racing, and were even seen to be stopping at pedestrial crossings.
Alas the Panama Transport Spring is over. The drivers largely recruited from the ranks of the diablos rojos charioteers appear to be returning to their ingrained habits. We hope that doesn’t include taking drugs or alcohol when behind the wheel, something frequently exposed during police checks in the past, but recent personal experiences makes me wonder.
Driving along Justo Arosemena mid afternoon recently, behind a Metro bus I and my front seat passenger were shocked to see the bus, carrying passenger, drive through the red light at the intersection with Calle 42, in spite of a steady flow of traffic travelling down 42 and turning onto Arosemena. We caught up with the bus before it arrived at the next lights, near RibaSmith. They were on red but, undeterred the driver carried his passenger through without stopping.
The next set of lights on Calle 50 were on green, but when the bus arrived at Federico-Boyd the lights were again on red and the bus sailed on. By now my passenger had taken the bus number and later in the day we e-mailed the Mi Bus complaints center where it is probably sitting among the hundreds of user messages about tardy service.
The very next morning while standing at the lights at a pedestrian crossing on Avenida Balboa we witnessed another Metro bus and a taxi drive through the red light without slowing.
Many of those driving Metro buses are also driving taxis in their off duty hours Last week they were on strike demanding better pay and working conditions.
Beware. The diablo rojo culture lives on.