2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-THREE - Public Planning and Development (§§ 1 — 11273) › PART II - Economic Development (§§ 231-241 — 695i) › Chapter 35 - Metropolitan Bus Authority (§§ 601 — 620) › § 606 - Powers

The purposes of the Authority shall be to develop and improve, own, operate and manage any and all types of overland passenger transportation facilities and services in and through the territory comprising the Capital of Puerto Rico and the Metropolitan Area, as defined by the Puerto Rico Planning Board, including the city of Bayamón; Provided, That the operational jurisdiction of Bayamón shall not be of an exclusive character. The Public Service Commission is hereby empowered to extend franchises and fix rates for the operation of minibuses within the Metropolitan Area, as well as to decree applicable rates for the rendering of these services. Provided, That such franchises shall be granted for those routes and areas where there is no adequate public transportation and provided they are not in conflict with the routes covered by the Metropolitan Bus Authority. Provided, likewise, That franchises to operate minibuses must be granted preferably to labor cooperatives.
The Authority may cover the rest of the Island in nonscheduled chartered trips and make available to the inhabitants of Puerto Rico the benefits thereof in the broadest and most economical manner, thereby fostering and promoting the general welfare of the community and increasing commerce and prosperity; and the Authority is granted and shall have and may exercise all rights and powers necessary or convenient for carrying out the aforesaid purposes, including without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the following:
(a) To have perpetual existence as a corporation.
(b) To adopt, alter and use a corporate seal, which shall be judicially noticed.
(c) To prescribe, adopt, amend and repeal bylaws to govern the manner in which its general business may be conducted and to exercise and perform the powers and duties granted to and imposed upon it by law.
(d) To have complete control and supervision of any undertaking constructed or acquired by it including the power to determine the character of and necessity for all its expenditures and the manner in which they shall be incurred, allowed and paid, and to prescribe, adopt, amend and repeal such rules and regulations as may be necessary or proper for the exercise and performance of its powers and duties or to govern the rendering, sale or exchange of transportation services or facilities.
(e) To sue and be sued.
(f) To make contracts and to execute all instruments necessary or convenient in the exercise of any of its powers.
(g) To prepare or cause to be prepared plans, designs, and estimates of costs for the construction, reconstruction, extension, improvement, enlargement or repair of any undertaking or any part or parts thereof, and to modify from time to time such plans, designs or estimates.
(h) To acquire in any lawful manner, hold, maintain, use and operate any undertaking or part or parts thereof.
(i) To acquire in any lawful manner, produce, develop, manufacture, hold, conserve, use, distribute, supply, exchange, sell, rent and otherwise dispose of any and all equipment, supplies, services, goods, and such other property real and personal as the Authority deems necessary, proper, incidental or convenient in connection with its activities.
(j) To acquire in any lawful manner and to hold and use any real, personal, or mixed, tangible or intangible property, or any interest therein, deemed by it to be necessary or convenient for carrying out the purposes of the Authority, and (subject to the limitations contained in this chapter) to lease as lessor, or exchange, any property or interest therein at any time acquired by it.
(k) To construct, reconstruct, and operate any undertaking or any part or parts thereof, and any additions, improvements and extensions to any undertaking of the Authority by contract or contracts, or under, through, or by means of its own officers, agents and employees.
(l) To determine, fix, alter, charge and collect reasonable rates, fees, rentals, and other charges for the use of the facilities or services of the Authority, or other commodities sold, rendered, or furnished by it, which shall be sufficient for the payment of the expenses of the Authority incurred in the conservation, development, improvement, extension, repair, maintenance and operation of its facilities and properties, for the payment of the principal of and interest on its bonds, and for fulfilling the terms and provisions of such covenants as may be made with, or for the benefit of, the purchasers or holders of any bonds of the Authority; Provided, That, in fixing rates, fees, rentals, and other charges, the Authority shall have in view those factors leading to the encouragement of the widest economically possible diversified use of its facilities; and that before making changes in the general rate structure for transportation service, a public hearing of an informative, quasi-legislative character shall be held, with respect to said changes, before the Board of Directors, or before any officer or officers as the Board of Directors may designate for such purpose, and upon such hearing, the Board of Directors, pursuant to the powers, duties, and obligations vested in and imposed upon it by this chapter, may alter such charges in the light of the evidence produced therein.
(m) To appoint such officers, agents and employees and vest them with such powers and impose upon them such duties, and fix, change, and pay such compensation for their services as the Authority may determine.
(n) To borrow money, make and issue bonds of the Authority for any of its corporate purposes or for the purpose of financing, refinancing, paying or discharging any of its bonds or obligations, whether outstanding or assumed, and to secure payment of its bonds and of any and all other obligations by pledge or mortgage of or any other lien on all or any of its contracts, revenues, income or property.
(o) To make and issue bonds for the purpose of funding, refunding, purchasing, paying, or discharging any of the outstanding bonds or obligations issued or assumed by it or any bonds or obligations the principal of or interest on which is payable in whole or in part from its revenues.
(p) To accept donations from persons and private entities; and to accept grants from, and enter into contracts, leases, agreements, or other transactions with any federal agency, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or political subdivision thereof, and may expend the proceeds of any such grants or donations for its corporate purposes.
(q) To prepare and submit to the Public Service Commission a proposal of the sectors and routes of the Metropolitan Area in which the operation of minibuses would not be in conflict with the service rendered by the Authority. Said proposal must be submitted within two (2) months from the effective date of this act and subsequently amended as necessary.
(r) To enter on any lands or premises, upon the consent of the owners or holders thereof or their representatives, for the purpose of making surveys or examinations.
(s) To acquire, hold and dispose of stock, preferences in issues thereof, contracts, bonds or other interests in other corporations and to exercise any and all powers or rights in connection therewith and to obtain the organization in accordance with law, and exercise partial or complete control over, subsidiary, affiliated or associated corporations whenever, in the judgment of the Board of Directors, such an arrangement is necessary, appropriate and convenient for the effectuation of the Authority’s purposes or the exercise of its powers; and to sell, lease, give or otherwise grant any property of the Authority or delegate or transfer any of its rights, powers, functions, or duties to any such corporation that may be subject to its control. The aforesaid power to delegate or transfer shall not include the right of eminent domain or of rate fixing, which shall be exercised by the Authority directly.
(t) To assign and transfer, free of charge, to the municipalities of Puerto Rico or nonprofit organizations, that so request, any surplus buses to be used to transport persons with physical and mental disabilities and the elderly, subject to compliance with any of the conditions established under the applicable regulations and norms.
(u) To do all acts necessary or convenient to carry out the powers granted to it by this chapter or by any other act of the Legislature of Puerto Rico, or by any act of the Congress of the United States; Provided, however, That the Authority shall have no power at any time or in any manner to pledge the credit or taxing power of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any of its political subdivisions; nor shall the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any of its political subdivisions be liable for the payment of the principal of or interest on any bonds issued by the Authority.
History —May 11, 1959, No. 5, p. 17, § 6; June 30, 1966, No. 138, p. 440, § 1; June 25, 1969, No. 81, p. 232, § 1; July 23, 1974, No. 241, Part 2, p. 229, § 2; Oct. 7, 2009, No. 108, § 1.