**Caracas Metro and its impact on citizens** Investments in effective and sustainable mobility options can help reduce poverty, particularly for low-income groups who often have limited access to public or private transport options. While many cities in Latin America face mobility challenges due to increased traffic and automobile usage, Venezuela's economic crisis has led to a decrease in the number of private vehicles on the road, making the public transportation system more important to people. However, the Metro system is in a state of disrepair, and there is limited official information available to the public about its condition. Citizen participation and technology can help fill the lack of information by providing means for users and technical experts to share information about the system's condition, including physical aspects and service provision. This information could be used by policymakers to design rehabilitation and improvement plans for the Metro system according to people's needs. Caracas Metro is (was) a rapid and mass transit system that can mobilize over one million passengers per day. The first line of the subway was opened in 1983, and since then, the system has undergone many expansions and upgrades. This has implied a significant transformation in terms of urbanism, mobility, infrastructure, and technology for Caracas. The network currently includes three interconnected rail lines, three cable cars, and a surface transport system called the Metrobús. The Caracas Metro is composed of 58.6 km of double-track railways, 48 stations, and trains with seven cars. But Caracas Metro fares are often too low to cover operational costs, creating sustainability challenges for the system. Lack of accessibility, particularly transportation, contributes to poverty by limiting access to employment, education, and healthcare. Shorter commute times are associated with higher income levels, while longer travel times are linked to lower life satisfaction. But economic difficulties that Venezuela faces, may affect the country's ability to subsidize public transportation. In recent years, users have been complaining through social media and digital press about different problems of Caracas Metro. But there is a lack of systematized information on these issues. For this research, a crowdsourcing methodology was used to collect data on the travel experiences of users to evaluate perceptions. The study was conducted between September and October 2022, with 1515 valid surveys, using a non-probabilistic quota sampling to ensure proportional representation of gender, age diversity, vulnerable populations, and people with disabilities. Citizen science can be a tool for participatory policy-making and achieving economic development. This study aims to answer two questions: Can citizen participation and technology overcome problems of access to systematized information on the operation of the Caracas Metro system? What is the current state of physical aspects and service provision from the perspective of users? The research revealed that the main reason for using the Metro system was economic, as it was the cheapest option available for transportation. The comfort, speed, and safety of the Metro system were not the main reasons for its use. The main issue with the system was the time of travel, which was much longer than the nominal design conditions of the system, with users reporting an average waiting time of 22 minutes and an average travel time of 40 minutes. The investigation identified the poor maintenance of the stations and trains and the waiting times at stations as major issues that contributed to the long waiting and travel times. Line 1 had the highest demand, with 81% of usage in the evaluated period, while Lines 2 and 3 had 14% and 5%, respectively. Lines 2 and 3 also received users from outside the Caracas Metropolitan Area, from Los Teques and Valles del Tuy, respectively. The average waiting time at the transfer station was 39 minutes, with a peak of 63 minutes. The Global rating index of the user evaluation of the system was 43.56 out of 100, indicating a "Regular" rating, but towards the lower limit of "Bad". Users reported significant deficiencies in the station's cleanliness and comfort, especially concerning the mechanical stairs and climatization systems. Customer experience was also found to be lacking, with fewer than one-fifth of users reporting positive experiences with Metro staff. Despite the journey using the subway is not rapid or comfortable, users reported that the cost of public transportation represents a significant proportion of their income, and they use the Metro because it is cheaper. The findings revealed that the system had a "regular" performance rating, while the mechanical escalators, air conditioning, and travel times were the worst-rated aspects. The study also showed that average travel times were longer than expected, which could impact users' ability to overcome poverty and have implications for the economy. This study allows us to affirm that the combination of citizen participation and technology can overcome the problems of access to systematized information on the operation of the Caracas Metro System. There were several advantages to this methodology, such as low costs for implementation, easy execution, and the possibility of having a direct and fast connection with users. However, there are limitations, such as the need for internet connection, a problematic aspect in places with low internet connectivity, which can discourage users from reporting. Additionally, some geographic areas may be overrepresented. To maintain motivation and report frequency, micropayment incentives or rewards may be necessary. The increase in travel times can impact users' chances of overcoming poverty, which would be an important aggravating factor in the complex humanitarian crisis conditions already facing Venezuela. It would be necessary to evaluate in a future study whether these travel times represent an important disincentive for users to stop using this transportation system, which could also have economic implications, especially in access to job markets. On the other hand, travel times also have an impact on personal satisfaction and therefore on users' mental health, and this would be an important topic to motivate further research. Regarding the financial aspects, users reported that ticket sales service was frequently not provided at the stations, that combined with very low fares, means that the subsidy levels required for the operation and maintenance of the Caracas Metro are very high and it seems that they are not being covered by the state. Although there are good reasons for having subsidies in public transportation, the fares of the Caracas Metro are well below the prices in the region, therefore, it is suggested that for future research, this can be further explored with the calculation of optimal subsidy levels. Furthermore, it is important that Caracas Metro guarantees access to smart card recharges at all stations. Finally, decision-makers are recommended to create an observatory-type instance of statistics, similar to that of the Buenos Aires metro (https://datos.gob.ar/dataset/transporte-sube---cantidad-transacciones-usos-por-fecha), which combines surveys and automation in order to collect useful information to improve the system, an aspect that has been the norm in most Latin American cities that have metro-type systems. The lack of systematized and verifiable information, in the case of the Caracas Metro, leads to the formulation of plans with subjective criteria without effects on the quality and perception of service. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_de_Caracas https://datos.gob.ar/dataset/transporte-sube---cantidad-transacciones-usos-por-fecha https://twitter.com/metro_caracas/status/1596821133810081792?s=20 https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/venezuela-transporte_maduro-aprueba-150-millones-de-d%C3%B3lares-para-recuperaci%C3%B3n-del-metro-de-caracas/47870256 https://www.canva.com/design/DAFLjhDbNGY/MOVPjJMk-8lBKs3xGJDA0Q/view