With
The
New Year Comes A Wave of Price Increases
The new year is here and so is a wave of
price increases for services like taxis,
buses, gasoline, water and electricity. All
increases were approved by the Autoridad
Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (Aresep)
in 2009 and take effect in the new year.
Water today goes up an average of 15.2%,
while the cost of sanitary sewers goes up on
average 36.7%. The new rates will be
included in the utility bills by the
Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AyA).
What the increase means is a family
consuming an average of 25 cubic metres of
water a month will have to pay an additional
¢1.468 colones a month, bringing the total
average bill to ¢9.298 from ¢7.830 colones
monthly.
The increase affects some 500.000 customers.
Taxi fares also saw an increase at the
beginning of the year. In 2010 the initial
cost of taxi service is ¢510 colones, up
from ¢455 and each additional kilometre
costs ¢95 colones, up from ¢55.
Bus fares on almost all routes around the
country also went up with the entrance of
the new year. The average increase is 3.85%,
the actual increase is dependent on the
route. Check your local bus operator for the
new prices before boarding a bus.
The cost of sending mail also went up in the
new year.
Correos de Costa Rica has increased its
rates depending on the country of
destination. For example, sending a letter
not weighing more than 20 grams, anywhere in
Costa Rica now costs ¢225, up from ¢140.
Sending a similar letter to any destination
in Central America costs ¢330 colones, up
from ¢160.
The cost of sending packages is also up.
Since the Correos de Costa Rica is not a
"courier service", rates for packages falls
in the jurisdiction of the Aresep.
In the middle of January the latest approved
increase in gasoline prices takes effect,
increasing the cost of a litre of super
gasoline by ¢14 colones. |
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