When Mayor Juan Pablo Poletti took office on December 9, the flat rate for the public bus transportation system in the city cost 220 pesos. It happened that in January, the Nation decided to eliminate the Transportation Compensation Fund for the interior of the country, and not for the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA). This generated a shock in the cost scheme, which had an impact on the ticket that users pay.
Of those 220 pesos, on February 1, the capital municipality authorized its first increase (by decree No. 00017/2024) in the bus fare, which that month – after it was implemented by the SUBE system – cost 380 pesos. .
The transportation crisis continued to worsen, with separate strikes by drivers and enormous political negotiations with the National Transportation Secretariat.
On March 4, the second increase in the Poletti administration arrived, via decree 00023/2024. From 380 pesos, the flat rate in this capital became 700 pesos. It was 84.2% more than the previous value.
And now the last administrative act has arrived, decree No. 00050/2024, which represents the third increase: the Executive authorized an increase in the frequent rate from 700 pesos to 940 pesos (34% increase).
In clean, From February to this month of June – barely five months – the ticket increased by 327.27%, starting from those distant 220 pesos that it cost until the end of January in this capital.
And this despite the fact that for local transportation businessmen, the authorized increase “was not enough.” The reality is that for a key urban mobility system, the hit to the pocket is really significant.
Strictly speaking, a person who must take four buses a day to go to work (a commercial employee who does not work regular hours, for example), must spend 3,760 pesos. That amount amounts to 90 thousand pesos for an entire month, always counting four trips.
Mayors’ march
In a recent statement, the Federal Network of Mayors, which includes the leaders of the 23 provincial capitals (including Poletti), highlighted the urgency of the demand for a solution to the crisis of public passenger transportation by bus.
According to the jurisdictional leaders, the elimination of national transportation subsidies in the interior of the country “has exacerbated pre-existing problems, seriously affecting local communities and creating notable uncertainty both in the business environment and in municipal and provincial governments.”
See alsoBuses detonated with people, cars in poor condition and a rate among the highest in the country However, there was a decision by the central government to increase subsidies for transportation in the AMBA, allocating more than 148 billion pesos in May and more than 160 billion in June 2024, while eliminating the Compensation Fund for the interior in January, “leaving the provinces in a critical situation.
The mayors maintain that the lack of clear communication and the government’s focus on subsidizing only the AMBA have further aggravated these problems.
“The elimination of these subsidies has created a crisis in public transportation in the interior that needs immediate solutions so that we can continue functioning,” they declared.
What does the decree say?
The last decree No. 00050, dated May 30, refers to the fact that the companies providing the public passenger transportation service by bus had requested a rate redetermination based on the price variations of the cost components (…) requiring bring the flat rate to $1,378.35.
Garita in Rivadavia almost Crespo. It remains to be seen how users will respond to this new increase, which is a sure blow to the pockets. Credit: El Litoral Archive / Pablo Aguirre The Control Body for Public Transportation of Passengers by Buses intervened and issued opinion No. 04/24 in which it indicated that the variation in costs exceeds the percentage provided for by Article 16 of Ordinance No. 11,580 (which regulates the bus subsystem in the city). Therefore, the municipal Executive has the power to redetermine the system rate.
See alsoThe bus ticket will cost $940 in the city of Santa Fe In this regard, the Undersecretary of Traffic Control and Road Safety, Transportation and Mobility intervened, which stated, after analyzing the evolution of costs since the last rate redetermination, that there has been an increase in one of the most significant variables. of the sector, such as fuel, while the price of diesel accumulates an increase of more than 5% since the last month in which the rate was redetermined (May 2024).
See alsoNew SUBE app: the only option for users starting in June However, “in order to provide sustainability of the system and ensure the continuity and regularity of said service,” it is the municipality that determined the new tariff schedule.
The new costs
As El Litoral announced, the new values are the following:
- -Frequent Ticket Rate: $940;
- -School Fee: $413.60;
- -Retired Rate: $526.40;
- -Student Fee (tertiary-university): $629.80;
Decree 00050 2024 – New… by El Litoral
