Just speaking generally, I have seen a number of examples of Panama implementing something common in other countries, but apparently letting the people who run it be people who do not seem to know how a properly working system actually looks. in the case of the buses, some routes may emulate the old privately run bus routes as well so there is an expectation of local knowledge.

My favorite is the red-light programming, there are lights on major roads with 15-30 seconds for a major direction and 5x+ that for the other major routes in aggregate, and they tend not to get fixed (looking at you Northbound Federico Boyd at calle 50, is approx 15 seconds then minutes for the others...). There is another one on Via Israel (einstein/multiplaza eastbound) that creates traffic jams all by itself every day. They can last years and not be changed.