Bus Fare Hike in The Works
Facing high gasoline prices and the increasing cost of maintenance, yesterday the Consejo de Transporte Público (CTP) made a formal request to the Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (Aresep) for a 12% hike in bus fares on some 800 routes across the country.

If and when approved, rates on routes like Tibás will jump from the current ¢130 colones to ¢145 and Cartago, for example, will go from the current ¢300 to ¢335 colones.

The bus operators say they need the increase to combat rising fuel prices and the cost of maintaining their fleet.

The last increase in bus fares was a year ago. Since then, gasoline prices have increased seven times, as diesel fuel has gone from ¢318 to ¢380 colones a litre. Salaries have also gone up 13% during the period, as well as administration costs.

It's important to note that this increase does not reflect any investment made to the fleet, for example, the installation of handicap ramps that is being required to be installed on every public bus.

The bus operators say that the ramps have a median cost of us$8.000 and that a 300% increase in fares will be required, accordin to estimates provided by the viceministra de Transportes, Viviana Martín.

Caroline Mora, a spokesperson for the Aresep - the government agency that regulates public prices and services - said that the institution is concerned over the decision of the Constitutional Court last week when it rejected reforms to the law to postpone the ramp installation and that the bus operators will have a good reason to request a huge increase.

The Constitutional Court decision means that legislators will have to draft a new bill that would extend the time to install the ramp, failing which all buses will have to meet the requirements within 90 days or face sanctions that include a fine and/or confiscation of the license plates.

It is important to note that the bus operators have had the last 10 years to install the ramps after the law was originally passed in 1996. Only 20% of all public buses are equipped for the handicapped.

Bus operators are rejecting the installation of ramps on 100% of the fleet, saying that the demand does not warrant the investment and no other city in the world has made such a requirement on its bus system. The investment for some bus companies that operate more than 50 buses, like the Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago routes, can be more than us$500.000.