Subway commuters in Buenos Aires see fares spike by 360% as part of austerity campaign in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Commuters in Buenos Aires on Friday were hit by an abrupt 360% increase in subway fares, one of the most dramatic price hikes in libertarian President Javier Milei ‘s harsh budget austerity campaign in Argentina.

After weeks of hearings, a judge on Thursday lifted an order that had temporarily blocked the scheduled increase in subway fares. That cleared the way for the change to take effect Friday morning as office workers across Buenos Aires streamed through the turnstiles of South America’s oldest subway system.

Public transportation fares are a sensitive issue across Latin America, where inequality is deeply entrenched and outrage triggered by subway price hikes have sparked social unrest in the past, such as Chile’s 2019 mass protests.

Overnight, the price of a single ride in Buenos Aires more than tripled from 125 pesos (14 cents) to 574 pesos (64 cents), exacerbating a painful cost of living crisis in Argentina. Some commuters complained they were suddenly paying triple for a network that was only deteriorating.