The provision of Saeta’s night service was guaranteed at least until the end of next month, after the operators reached an agreement with the provincial State company that manages the bus corridors of the metropolitan region of Salta for the price per kilometer.
Following the understanding, which was confirmed yesterday afternoon, the cut in frequencies that the sub-concessionaires of the mass passenger transportation system had announced in the week starting at midnight today became void. The units with which the night frequencies are covered circulated through the streets of the capital of Salta normally.
Last Tuesday, through a statement, the operators had announced the suspension of the night service in demand of a recomposition of the price per kilometer in accordance with the increases that accumulated in different operating costs in a context of high inflation and permanent increases in fuels. , lubricants, tires, spare parts and other expenses related to the operation and maintenance of their fleets.
The companies’ statement
“The serious crisis situation prevents us from renewing the vehicle fleet and, if it persists, it will influence the quality and safety of services and a delay in the fulfillment of financial commitments,” the subconcessionaires had stated in the statement, in which who noted that before making the determination, through notes addressed to Saeta and the Ministry of Government of the Province, they requested “an urgent update of the price per kilometer” and even asked for “a hearing without obtaining any response.”
In these terms, the companies stated that the new ticket prices were not transferred, in proportion to the rate they receive for their services. In response to the question, the Minister of Government, Ricardo Villada, maintained that the announced measure, if carried out, could give rise to penalties because “nowhere in the contract that Saeta has with the sub-concessionaires does it indicate that the price of the ticket has a proportionality “direct with what is paid” in terms of price per kilometer to the service providers.
An essential service
Finally, and for the peace of mind of users for whom the night service is essential to reach hospitals, go to their workplaces and return to their homes in the early hours of the morning, yesterday the parties brought their positions closer and reached an agreement yesterday. agreement. Although the details of the understanding that Saeta closed with the service sub-concessionaires were not officially revealed, sources from the business sector confirmed yesterday afternoon that the measure was suspended and stressed that the agreed update in the price per kilometer would help to meet essential expenses of the operation of the lines.
The sources declined to give details of the agreed recomposition, pending its official announcement, but they did indicate that it would enable some companies to modernize part of their fleet, which still includes Tatsa units that need to be replaced by new cars.
Ticket Fare Update
Since last January, due to the cut in national subsidies that will cover a substantial part of the system’s operating costs, Saeta’s urban ticket went from $110 to $290 in February and to $490 since March. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (AMT) convened a public hearing for next May 13, at the headquarters of the municipality of La Caldera, to update the rates in the corridors of the mass passenger transportation system of the metropolitan region of Salta. There, the request that Saeta presented to the transportation regulatory body to raise the urban ticket to a new value of $744 will be discussed. After this public hearing, of a non-binding nature, the AMT will determine the final amount of the increase and the method of application, which could be authorized in one more tranches, as defined after the last sector hearing.
Saeta hopes to be able to apply the new ticket price starting in the second half of May, but this will also depend on the time it takes for the AMT to define the new fare table. The specific thing is that until then, due to the terms in which the Saeta agreement was closed with the bus companies that provide the service in the metropolitan region, the night frequencies will be covered by the affected units, the usual routes and schedules.
