Daniel Tapia pay up to S/10 soles a day to travel on a bus from Metropolitan after the increase in the passage from S/ 2.50 to S/ 3.20 that took place from July 16. The increase in the rate now leads him to use 10% of his salary to travel from Chorrillos to the Center of Lima.
“It’s an abusive measure,” says the also member of the Voces Chorrillanas collective. And it is that the increase has been affecting thousands of Limeños, who not only have to battle with the rise in the price of basic products, but also with transportation.
“The increase in tickets occurs in a context of economic crisis and inflation and affects everyone’s pockets,” says Daniel. “The service offered by the Metropolitan also does not correspond to the money we pay,” he adds.
YOU CAN SEE: “She could have been paralyzed”: woman demands justice after being hit by a Metropolitan bus
In addition to this problem, the long queues are added, the waiting time on the buses of up to 30 minutes. These situations are experienced by thousands of users a day. One of them is José Carlos Zúñiga, who travels from Independencia to the Estadio Nacional station, also spending S/10.
Together with other passengers from Independencia, Comas and San Martín de Porres they have carried out more than six protests at the Naranjal station. He is a member of the Coordinator against the Rise of the Metropolitan Passage and through this group they hope to return the ticket fare to its original price (S/1.50), as well as to improve the infrastructure and service of the Metropolitan and to culminate with the work that extends the route to Carabayllo.
In the approved contract, during the administration of Luis Castañeda Lossio, a limit of 700,000 users per day was signed and in case of not reaching that limit, the State would assume the difference, Zuniga explains. However, this does not happen in practice, which makes a low passage untenable. “It is one of the most expensive in Latin America.”
In that sense, he stated that if they continue not to be heard, they will go to protest to the Urban Transport Authority (TO YOU) of Lima and Callao.
Mobilizations. In the north and south they came together to protest against the rise in fares. Photo: diffusion
YOU CAN SEE: Mayor of Lima speaks out before the rise in tickets for the Metropolitan: “It generates a concern for us”
It should be noted that the Metropolitano operators can raise the fare arbitrarily because they have a majority in the directory. This thanks to the Castañeda contract.
Subsidy
The ATU has submitted to the MEF a proposal to implement a direct subsidy for fares. This would cost S/78 million each month.