The increase in city bus tickets, already announced by the government, will come into effect in mid-July. The minimum value of the transfer will increase by 40% and go from $ 18 to $ 25, according to official sources. The rest of the trips will also have a similar increase. A trip that costs $ 21 today will go for $ 30.
With the increase, it will narrow the gap between the value of collectives within and in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires (AMBA). After this climb, the journey will continue to be worth less than half that of the interior. In the streets of Buenos Aires and in the suburbs, the minimum will be 25 dollars, while the average indoors will be double, 50 dollars.
Travel by bus in the metropolitan area it has been frozen for nearly 41 months. The amount is the same as of April 15, 2019. There is hardly any other price in the economy that drags on this long without corrections.
The government still did not announce how much subsidies will decrease carry after this increase. The subsidies are about $ 15,000 million per month, according to the transportation chambers. that would give $ 180 billion annualized.
“The increase is not even enough to pay for driver parity”, private say. “There will be no reduction in subsidies,” they explain, although they ask not to be identified. They also claim that there is a growing account in recent months which is the diesel subsidy. The price of that fuel has gone up. The owners of the groups pay it, but the state gives them compensation.
The Ministry of Transport wants subsidies for the groups that circulate only in the city of Buenos Aires do they pass to that jurisdiction. The issue is discussed at a table attended by national and city authorities.
In the government of Buenos Aires they also seek an increase in the value of subway, according to national officials. But, for this, they first need an increase in groups. The idea is that values run evenly, with the subway a little more expensive.
The removal of subsidies to groups that circulate in the city it can cause problems for lines that cover the same pathsbut which touch the two jurisdictions (province of Buenos Aires and City of Buenos Aires), therefore they are considered “Inter-jurisdictional”.
If there are two “values” (one for the lines that pass through the streets of Buenos Aires and another for those that go between the suburbs and the CABA), the majority would turn to the cheapest, which will be the inter-jurisdictional one. The potential “porteño” savings – due to the transfer of responsibility for these subsidies – will be diluted in the face of the greater need for resources that the lines that touch both territories would have, due to the greater number of passengers.
The matter was addressed by the authorities of the Ministry of Transport of the Nation and of Buenos Aires.
The amount of group travel in Buenos Aires and the conurban generates criticism in the interior. In other provincial capitals only Mendoza (at $ 40) and Salta ($ 41) are on a similar level. The rest have much higher prices.
In the dissimilar geography of Buenos Aires, a trip costs nearly $ 75 in Mar del Plata, $ 76 in Bahía Blanca, and goes up to $ 80 in Necochea. This is three times the AMBA amounts. Villa Gesell ($ 23) and Olavarría ($ 33) are the closest to Buenos Aires and the suburbs in bus prices.
A national review shows that in Catamarca they pay $ 45, while in Resistencia (Chacho) they reach $ 41. In the five main cities of Chubut, the range is between $ 40 (Trelew-Rawson) and $ 60 (Esquel).
In Córdoba, the second largest province, the amount of Córdoba Capital is around $ 70 ($ 69.50) as of May 23. In other locations the price drops, but always with a minimum threshold of $ 42.
“There are places in the interior where national, provincial and municipal subsidies are combined”, details an expert asking not to be named. “In the province there are also many bonuses or discounts of all kinds (pensioners, students, low income) that are approved by local authorities. This increases the” technical rate “, because the costs are spread over a smaller number of people who pay “, he describes.
In Santa Fe, the cheapest location for public transport is Rafaela (where the current governor, Omar Perotti, was mayor), while Rosario and Santa Fe Capital cost around $ 70. It is another province where the above is repeated, of tips or general discounts.
In Calafate there would be one of the cheapest tickets in the country ($ 15), while Ushuaïa, at $ 24, would be priced similar to those in Buenos Aires. “The use of public transport in Patagonia is very low compared to Buenos Aires,” says another specialist.
In Corrientes Capital, the average ticket value is $ 60, but in Posadas, the neighboring capital of Misiones, it drops to $ 40. In Paraná, Entre Ríos, the amount is $ 57.60.
Formosa costs $ 60, as does Tucumán, while San Salvador de Jujuy costs $ 53.45. To the west, La Rioja costs $ 35, the same as Mendoza and quite similar to San Juan ($ 38.48). In San Luis it costs $ 50 from mid-April.
Two provinces with tourism, such as Neuquén and Río Negro, have high values. In Bariloche, Rio Negro, the ticket costs $ 62, while in San Martín de los Andes, Neuquén, it costs $ 79. In other locations it is cheaper. In Viedma, capital of the Río Negro, it costs $ 34,
Martin Bidegaray
Source: Clarin
