In Buenos Aires, fares rise amid few coins
Arizona Coin Collector
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/01/13/argentina.coins/
In Buenos Aires, fares rise amid few coins
January 13, 2009 -- Updated 0331 GMT (1131 HKT)
By Javier Doberti
CNN
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (CNN) -- Fares increased by as
much as 25 percent on mass transit in the Argentine
capital, sparking a round of grumbling among some
straphangers about the cost and paucity of coins
necessary for city bus rides.
Buses don't accept paper money.
"There's a scarcity of coins," one person said. "To
be able to get them, we have to stand on line, which
is a disaster."
The long lines of passengers waiting to get coins
are duplicated at stations around the city, which
will change the equivalent of only about six dollars
per person. Meanwhile, a black market has sprung up
where coins are sold at 10 percent above face value.
"I'm going to pay a peso and three-quarters," said
Clemencia Gonzalez, a passenger in the capital, as
she prepared to enter the subway. "Every day I have
to pay that, going and coming. Where am I going to
get the money to cover the whole month? A person
doesn't earn what he has to earn."
Another passenger took a more conciliatory stance.
"I always agreed that the price should rise,
always ... when they establish good service."
Said another: "It's not that it's expensive; the
point is that everything is rising in price and
the salaries remain low."
Despite the grumbling, Buenos Aires residents
fare better than their fellow Argentines. Even
with the price hike on Tuesday, public
transportation in the capital remains the cheapest
in the country, where in some provinces, fares
are 80 percent more expensive.
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