still open on conflict between the councilors of Juntos and the Frente de Todos around the rise in taxi fares in La Plata. The drivers and conductors demand an increase, but there was no quorum in the Transport Commission of the Deliberative Council and the meeting in which this request was to be dispatched was dropped so that it could be voted on in the next session.
In the event that the councilors advance in the approval of the new increase, They will raise the flag drop to 232 pesos and the token to 23 pesos during the day, and 270 and 27 pesos respectively at night. It should be remembered that currently the descent costs 172 pesos and the tab 18 in the first case; and 200 pesos and 20 pesos, respectively, for trips between 10 pm and 6 am.
This way the increase would be around 35% and the two blocks agree that the increase is necessary, but not on the way to solve it. The opposition wants the Municipality to subsidize part of the increase and carry out policies to improve the service.
The concilor Facundo Albini -and head of the Council’s Transport Commission- pointed out to 0221.com.ar that the Municipality “It must carry out policies that favor the taxi sector” such as subsidizing fuel, managing credits at a subsidized rate for taxi drivers to renew cars, and setting up an official taxi platform to compete against other illegal transport. “We are in favor of the increase. We understand that the sector needs the increase, we understand that the numbers do not close,” he said, adding: “The difference is that we are convinced that for the numbers to close, the funds have to come from of the municipality, and in the ruling party they believe that the increase has to be absorbed by the user”.
On the Juntos side, the mayor Juan Manuel Martinez Garmendia He accused Albini of seeking to “obtain a political advantage” and assured that “there is no municipality” that subsidizes taxis and that, faced with this situation, they decided not to attend the commission. “The increase requested by the sector has to do with the macroeconomic disaster of the national government and they are asking the Municipality to subsidize the rates with the money of La Plata taxpayers. This does not happen in any municipality in the country”, he told this medium. “We are willing to talk about some measure but not about the subsidy,” she remarked.
Within this framework and with a heated discussion between the parties involved, next Friday at 10 o’clock the Council’s Transport Commission was convened again and there they will seek to reach an agreement and solve the situation around the taxi drivers.
