The Buenos Aires subway fare went up — again — on Monday. Using the subte in Buenos Aires now costs AR$757 per trip — US$0.76 at the official rate or US$0.62 at the MEP rate.
This price only applies if you have a registered SUBE card to your name. For unregistered users, fares are AR$859.07 (US$0.86 or US$0.70) per trip. Find out how to register your SUBE here.
This is the fifth raise in 2024, a whopping 846% spike compared to the fare in December. Inflation throughout the year, meanwhile, has been 80%.
This is the final scheduled subway raise determined by the Buenos Aires city government for 2024. This means that the current fare will remain in place until the beginning of next year at least.
The new fares, nevertheless, have already been disputed and could be reversed. On Thursday, a Buenos Aires judge ruled in favor of a stay filed by opposition lawmakers last May against the three latest scheduled raises, establishing their “absolute invalidity.”
The ruling cites incomplete and imprecise information on how the company calculated the increase, and mentions its impact on passengers. The first price hike led to less people on the subway, it says. “These passengers did not stop using public transport, but rather opted to use a cheaper means of transportation, which means there was a forced migration due to the fare increase.”
The Buenos Aires government and the Buenos Aires Subway — Sbase, by its Spanish initials, the public company that owns the city’s subway system — confirmed to the Herald that they will appeal the ruling. Until a final decision is reached, the AR$757 fare remains unchanged.
Subway prices going up
The fare was frozen from September to December 2023 at AR$80 (US$0.20 or US$0.08) due to a government decision. The first raise in January took it up to AR$110, followed by another one in February that bumped it up to AR$125.
In February, the BA government announced a series of fare raises, set to happen over three months. Initially scheduled for April, May, and June, they ended up being delayed and ultimately took place in May (AR$574), June (AR$650), and October (AR$757).
In Argentine pesos, this meant an 846% subway fare increase, way above the 80% inflation registered so far in 2024. In real terms, considering inflation, the spike was 425%.
In addition to the fare being frozen for four months in 2023, last year it went up by 90.4%, while the 2023 inflation was 211.4%. According to the BA city government, there was a lag between the fare and the inflation.
If translated to US dollars at the official exchange rate, the subway fare went up by 280% in 2024, or 678%, if we use the MEP exchange rate.