Urban transport users in Santiago are complaining about the rise in fares of the public shared taxis from RD$20 to RD$25 that went into effect on Monday, 23 October 2017. The drivers said that the increase is due to the higher cost of fuel and spare parts for their vehicles. One driver said that Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) was now over RD$115 per gallon.
Passengers complained about the increase, saying that their salaries had not increased to compensate for the higher fares. The president of the Federation of Transport Workers in the Northern Region, (FETRRANRENO), Gervacio de la Rosa, justified the increase saying that the drivers had no other option.
In Santiago there are over 40 public shared taxi routes and although there is a municipal Transit Office, it has never been involved in regulating fares, leaving that role to the transporter associations themselves.
The director of the National Transport Institute (Intrant), engineer Claudia Franchesca de los Santos, says that the announced increase is unauthorized.
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Diario Libre
24 October 2017
