Changes are coming to the Buenos Aires public transit system. From Sunday, the national government will stop funding discounts for many journeys that involve changing between transit lines. The discount still applies to buses that cross the border between Buenos Aires City and Buenos Aires Province, and trains. But buses that don’t cross the city limits will no longer be eligible. Nor will the subway system.
Got that? Good, because there’s more: whether or not you get the discount also depends on the order in which you take those buses.
Why are fares changing?
The changes are happening because of changes to the rules about when passengers receive a discount from the RED SUBE program. The program means riders pay progressively cheaper fares if they have to take multiple methods of public transportation within two hours.
In the RED SUBE program, the passenger pays the regular fare during the first trip. If they take a second trip on eligible public transit, that fare is discounted 50%. If that same rider takes a qualifying third, fourth, or fifth journey within the timeframe then those trips are discounted 75%.
Starting from Sunday (September 1), riders will only get the discount if the second and subsequent journeys are made on bus lines that travel between Buenos Aires City and Province. This is because these lines are under the purview of the national government. Lines that stay within the city limits fall to the city government, while those that stay in Buenos Aires Province fall to the provincial government.
The discounts are being cut because the national government is cutting the funds transferred to the city and provincial governments to pay for them.
Trains will remain eligible for the RED SUBE discounts. Funding for the Social Tariff will continue across the country. The current transportation reorganization will not affect this program.
Which public transport trips still get discounts?
Let’s say you take the trusty 39, which connects San Telmo with Palermo. It starts near La Boca and ends in Chacarita, so it’s a city bus. You then change for the 152, which runs through the capital but also crosses the city limits into Vicente López. That second fare would be eligible for the RED SUBE program’s lower pricing.
If, on the other hand, you took the 39 then the 132, it wouldn’t receive the fare deduction as they’re both CABA buses. The same is true for provincial lines that don’t enter BA city.
We told you it was confusing, but stay with us, because there’s more.
You only get the discount if the second and subsequent trips are on buses that cross between city and province. So, if you take the 152 first and then the 39, you would pay full price for both fares, as the second bus is a city bus. This has the bizarre consequence that commuters will find themselves paying a different fare when they make the journey in reverse.
The changes also affect the Buenos Aires subway network: so, if you take the 152 then a subway, you don’t get the discount. But on the return journey, you do, because the second transit crosses the city limits.
How does this affect passengers?
This change isn’t just confusing, it will also substantially increase public transport costs for people who cross the city limits each day for work or study. With around 55% of Argentines under the poverty line, this is a significant extra expense.
The issue has sparked a political dispute between the city, provincial and national governments, so watch this space in case there are further changes.
Which Buenos Aires buses go where?
The 31 bus lines that only operate within the city limits are: 4, 6, 7, 12, 23, 25, 26, 34, 39, 42, 44, 47, 50, 61, 62, 64, 65, 68, 76, 84, 90, 99, 102, 106, 107, 108, 109, 115, 118, 132, 151.
The buses that service both city and province (and therefore get the RED SUBE discount) are: 1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 37, 41, 45, 46, 49, 51, 53, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 63, 67, 70, 71, 74, 75, 78, 79, 80, 85, 86, 87, 88, 91, 92, 93, 95, 96, 97, 98, 100, 101, 103, 105, 110, 111, 113, 114, 117, 119, 123, 124, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 133, 134, 135, 136, 140, 143, 145, 146, 148, 150, 152, 153, 154, 158, 159, 160, 161, 163, 164, 166, 168, 169, 172, 174, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 184, 185, 188, 193, 194, 195.
Buses numbered 200 and above are Buenos Aires Province buses.
If you’re not sure which buses go where, you can check their routes on the website Omnilíneas.