in plaza san martín, the stops are still full on days of recess for the summer / sebastián casali
With the arrival of the days of recess in the City, it is known that the frequency of summer begins to govern. That is, fewer buses on the street. Only that is known while the stops are filled with users and discomfort -according to what was expressed before this newspaper at various points- due to the uncertainty of not knowing what the new schedules are and the endless waiting.
The bad mood is accentuated by the combination of all this with the implementation of a new increase in rates.
The official information provided by the Municipality indicates that the lines have a 15 percent decrease in frequency. Although in the streets they seem much more like the passing of the buses, especially at night and in the early morning.
Official information only indicates a 15% decrease in the number of services
It is true that the mobility of people decreased since the last days of December due to the culmination of the school cycles in schools, universities and the beginning of the summer season.
For this reason, when scheduling the day, the residents who will need public transport for their daily responsibilities must count in advance the change in bus frequencies.
But none of those responsible gave details, in response to the inquiries made by this newspaper, on how the summer service scheme is. Neither the local and provincial bus lines, nor the Municipality provided information, for example, on the number of units that remain in circulation with respect to those that comply with the service during the rest of the year. What are you talking about when you announce that the frequency is reduced by 15 percent? the reduction percentage seems minimal but it is not reflected in the stops with long waits, according to users’ complaints. It is also not very clear where the corresponding claims can be made.
The applications that indicate when the bus arrives are not spared from criticism
From the Planning Secretariat of the Commune, on which the local Transportation area depends, it was only reported that from January 2 to February 24 the summer schedules and frequencies will be maintained.
The measure reaches the bus lines of Grupo Unión Platense (273, 214, 202, North, East, South, 418 and 518); to the units of the company Nueve de Julio SAT (508, West, East, 561, 414 and 215) and those of the company Línea Siete SAT (307, 275 and 506).
long wait
Although this measure that reduces the frequency of public transport came into force on January 2, days before the stops already had long queues and anger arose over another of the problems that arises in the public transport system: the lack of updating of the applications.
Neighbors who were waiting at the bus stop were consulted by this newspaper about their experience with the changes in the frequency of the buses. On the one hand, a neighbor maintained that “the frequency dropped a lot and the applications do not coincide many times with the time or the distance in which the bus is.” A man who was waiting for her trip, already with an annoyed gesture, pointed out that “it already happened to me this week. Where I live there are stops for several lines 275, Este, 506 and 273 and I was there for more than 40 minutes and no bus came by”. The experience is even with several options, as indicated by the user.
For his part, Gonzalo, another user of the La Plata system, made reference to a distinction with the groups that go through the Circunvalación to the Cemetery: “During the year they do not have good frequency and in summer it is worse. You wait a lot and sometimes the bus passes and doesn’t stop, ”he complained.
applications in the crosshairs
The mobile applications that are used as a guide to see routes and waiting times are not spared from complaints. Paula commented that “I changed the application. The one I was using marked a time for me and the bus came by 20 minutes later. I started using another one because I use the bus to go to work and I have a specific arrival time. If I lose it or I’m late, I lose presenteeism”.
Other testimonies point to the confusion caused by the movement of the buses, apparently in groups of several branches. “They all pass together and then we sit at the stop for more than half an hour. I don’t understand what is happening with the frequencies”, summed up a user in the area of the train station, when the afternoon was fading and he was looking to return home.
