This story, summarized nicely in English by the folks at Living in Peru, mentions the fact that a couple of months ago when oil prices were at all time highs the transport units in Lima (remember there is not a public transit system in Lima) raised their prices in response to increased fuel costs.
Now that oil prices have tumbled student groups in Lima have begun to mention that student fares should drop to take into account the new lower prices for fuel. Apart from the students there appears to be little protest from the other users of Lima's transport units. A reduction in student fares should be immediately implemented but I would hold off on reducing the adult fare and hopefully the transport companies would use some of this profit to upgrade their 20th century buses for something more modern and cleaner burning.
Sadly, I do not hold out much hope for this as there has been very little initiative amongst the various actors that are involved in Lima's chaotic urban transport system for trying anything different. Someday these students will understand that companies will raise fares overnight but it will take months of public pressure before they will even consider dropping fares even 10 cents.
No comments:
Post a Comment