The Chamber of Passenger Motor Transport of Jujuy announced on Apr. 8 that the public transport system is facing a critical situation, with companies already reducing service frequencies because of significant cost increases. Guillermo Ruiz, a representative of the chamber, said, “Yes, well, each company is already reducing what it can. That is the reality.”
Ruiz explained that companies are taking isolated measures to try to maintain services. “There are companies that can take vehicles out of circulation, reduce during off-peak hours when there are fewer passengers; they can reduce frequency as is happening across the country, and we are no exception,” he said. He added: “Each company does what it can. There are companies that can cut back and others that cannot.”
Regarding subsidies, Ruiz said: “Payments from the national government are delayed by about three months and provincial payments also have considerable delays ranging from 30 to 60 days.” He further explained how these financial challenges affect daily operations: “Each company does what it can because it needs to save fuel. They can’t pay; revenues aren’t enough to refill the tank at the end of the day. That’s why each company consolidates schedules, cancels extra runs, removes buses when there are fewer people—but we’re running a risk of paralyzing some services and leaving people unable to travel.”
Ruiz also pointed out ongoing issues with government response: “There has been no response from either national or provincial governments; this has been getting worse month by month since 2024 until now—we have seen ticket sales fall year after year.” He attributed part of this decline in ridership to new competitors entering both urban and interurban routes.
When asked about dialogue with authorities, Ruiz said: “The last meeting we had was with the Minister of Labor who was going to arrange a governmental meeting with the governor and officials from Finance and Transportation Secretariat—he agreed but so far we have not received any response.” Ruiz noted another recent meeting with members of the Legislative Transport Commission but stated that at that time leadership positions had not yet been filled.
Ruiz concluded by expressing concern for thousands who rely on public transportation if conditions worsen.
