Published: Saturday, May 18, 2020
Commuters from Buenos Aires have been hit with a sudden 360% hike in subway fares
ISABEL DEBRE, Associated Press
BUENOS AIRE, Argentina — Commuters were shocked by a 360% hike in subway fares in Buenos Aires, the largest price increase of President Javier Milei’s austerity budget campaign in Argentina.
A judge lifted on Thursday, after weeks of hearings and appeals, an order temporarily blocking the increase in subway fare. The change was set to go into effect on Friday morning, as workers from all over Buenos Aires flooded the turnstiles in South America’s oldest metro system.
In Latin America, public transportation is a sensitive topic. There, inequality is deeply ingrained and the outrage caused by price increases on subways has sparked unrest, as seen in Chile’s mass protests of 2019.
The price of a single Buenos Aires ride has more than tripled overnight, from 125 pesos to 574 pesos. This is a major factor in the cost of living crisis that Argentina is experiencing. Some commuters claimed they had to pay triple for a network which was only getting worse.
Sofia Acosta, 35, said: “It affects me directly because more money is taken out of my paycheck every day. But the worst thing is that there has been zero investment made in the service.” “We travel in horrible conditions, crowded, late, and now, we pay more.”
Milei has slashed public spending, from subsidies to the state-owned companies, as part of an experiment in radical free market aimed at restoring Argentina’s reputation with foreign investors.
His deregulation and austerity have, at least for the short-term, pushed inflation up to 289% per year, one of the highest rates on the planet, and made it harder for the average Argentine as the economy slides into recession.
As Milei reduces federal subsidies to public transportation and forces city governments into raising costs, it’s the third year in a row that subway fares have risen due to inflation. The prices of buses and trains have also steadily increased in Buenos Aires, but not as a single price increase as the Subte, the city’s subway.
Buenos Aires officials said that fares will reach 650 pesos on June 1. However, they have delayed another price hike to 757 pesos until August 1, “to minimize the impact on riders’ pockets.”
The low fares are a great benefit to residents, particularly those who have to travel long distances for work and cannot afford the central Buenos Aires area. The low fares, like subsidies for basic goods, are a growing and large cost to the government.
The Buenos Aires Underground Transit System — one of the very first in the world to be constructed — was once a symbol of the lavish wealth of the city at the beginning of the 20th century. In recent decades, it has been in disrepair.
Source: ABC News