Bus travel was one of the few prices in the economy that was frozen for 40 months. Just in August, executive power advanced with a 40% increase in Buenos Aires and has now announced that it will go for another 40% more in December. The shift that was worth $ 18 mid-year will end at $ 35 by December, an increase of 95%.
In any case, the correction will not have a big impact on the decline in transport subsidies. The national state-funded bus, train and other system will require more than $ 1.16 billion over the next year, according to the budget bill.
“The raise is now to avoid bad news next year, which will be electoral. If the Cambiemos administration stopped increasing transport in April 2019, four months before the elections, we estimate that this government will do the same or something even more restrictive ”, assess the entrepreneurs in the sector, who ask not to be identified.
The Minister of Transport, Alexis Guerrera, anticipated that “there will be an adjustment” of the tariff in all its modalities and warned that work is still being done on the definitive increase in the number. The ascent will be for him “metropolitan transport area and all that is federal transportwhich is what the nation state governs ”.
The fix “will not be exactly the same for all rail lines or for all modes,” he explained.
“We are analyzing what that percentage increase will be, but we can roughly average 40%,” Guerrera completed.
The official, on the other hand, clarified that the measure “has nothing to do with the negotiation of the UTA (Unión Tranviarios Automotor) at the Ministry of Labor because internal transport, which is currently being discussed, is not the responsibility of the national government. ., beyond the fact that the provinces always put pressure on national subsidies ”.
“IS the competence of the provincial and municipal administrations establishes the ratesthe routes, the stops and what the national government does is a subsidy mechanism, “he stressed.
The increase in groups will have almost no effect on subsidies, which are close to $ 18 billion per month in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area (AMBA). In the industry it is said that almost everything you get will go to pay the parity of the drivers.
Railways are losing more than $ 10,000 million a month.
The first bus trip is full fare, while the second has a 50% discount and the third, 75%, again within a two-hour window. This is designed for commuters using a combination of bus and train.
Retirees and beneficiaries of social plans have a 55% discount. In bus lines they call them “attributes”.
The collection of the tickets is sufficient to pay 10% of the group expenses.
Transport companies always complain of delays in paying the compensation. In August they made a night “lockdown” – after 10pm -, which had repercussions on mobility and the economy. Several companies have told their employees to close early so as not to miss the transport to their homes.
“Half of those who travel make at least two trips: one by bus and the other by train is the most used combination, but there are several,” they underline on the lines.
After the increase, bus lines will have around $ 25 left over each time a passenger makes a trip. But the cost ranges between $ 200 and $ 250, according to estimates in that industry.
With the increase, the gap between the value of groups in the interior and the Buenos Aires metropolitan area (AMBA) is expected to be narrowed. All the same, the trip will still be worth less than half of the interior. In the streets of Buenos Aires and in the suburbs, the minimum will be $ 35 in December, while the average indoors is double, closer to $ 60..
In Córdoba and Santa Fe, the bus ticket is between $ 69 and $ 85. It is because the nation state subsidizes much less than in the AMBA.
Buenos Aires and the Suburbs Consume 75% of State Bus Subsidies Passengers in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA) receive approximately $ 3,015 per month in bus subsidies. It is almost triple that of the subsequent provinces (San Juan and Jujuy), whose subsidies are around $ 1,000 per person.
Source: Clarin
