Argentine public transport relies heavily on subsidies and discounts

Public transportation systems in San Juan and Bariloche, Argentina, are seeing a high reliance on subsidies and discounts, with only a small fraction of passengers paying full fares.

In San Juan, the Red Tulum system reports that only 17% of passengers pay the full fare of $1,300. The provincial government provides approximately $3.25 billion pesos monthly in tariff compensation to maintain this rate; without these subsidies, the fare would rise to approximately $2,600. Government Minister Laura Palma noted that the province is reviewing cost structures following national wage agreements for bus drivers between the Unión Tranviarios Automotor (UTA) and the Federación Argentina de Transportadores por Automotor de Pasajeros (FATAP).

In Bariloche, data from June shows that nearly 90% of trips involved discounts or free travel. Out of 772,910 total trips, only 10.78% were paid at the full rate. Approximately 51.14% of trips utilized discounts, while 38% were covered by school or university gratuities.