Yesterday’s news that the Fetraci transport union members plan to apply an increase of between RD$5 and RD$10 to their fares as of Monday, 13 January has been met with widespread rejection from passengers in Santiago. A public car or “concho” ride in Santiago currently costs RD$20 per passenger and public transport users told reporters that they would not pay the announced increase.
The secretary general of the union, Basilio Valerio, said that the increase in the fare had been ratified in a meeting with the leaders of 25 unions affiliated to the Fetraci. Valerio said that the fare increase had to be introduced to compensate for operational costs, which he said were no longer sustainable. “In addition, more than 30% of the drivers in Santiago and the northern region do not have the “Bonogas” card which the government hands out to compensate for the fuel price increase,” said Valerio. He said that the increase will only avoided if President Danilo Medina orders “Bonogas” cards to be issued to the more than 2,000 drivers in Santiago who do not receive this government assistance. Fetraci controls 25 routes, 20 of which are in Santiago’s urban transportation system, and all of the cars use LPG.
Nevertheless, CNTT union president Juan Marte said that his members would not increase their fares for the time being, but would assess their operational costs before deciding whether to continue providing their services at the current price. “We believe that this is not the right time to increase fares, because people cannot afford any more additional expenses,” said Marte.