COORDINATING UNSUBSIDISED PRIVATE SECTOR SUPPLY

CASE STUDY OF BUENOS AIRES

PATRICIA BRENNAN

BUENOS AIRES METROPOLITAN REGION DEMAND EVOLUTION AN MODAL SPLIT TRANSPORT SYSTEM INSTITUTIONAL ORGANIZATION HISTORIC EVOLUTION BUS REGULATION BUENOS AIRES METROPOLITAN REGION

POPULATION Area Population Density km2 1991 inhab/ km2 200 2.961.000 14.800 3.680 7.950.000 2.160 1.484 12.395 121 767

Federal District Great Buenos Aires First ring Great Buenos Aires 12.287 Second ring TOTAL 16.167 MOBILITY PATTERNS 1970 - 1995

 In 1970 : 9 million inhabitants performed 17.4 million daily trips In 1991 : 12 million inhabitants performed 18 million daily trips Between 1970 and 1991, population increased 37% while trips volume raised only 3,7% Estimated daily trips for 1995 are 18 million MODAL SPLIT AND DEMAND EVOLUTION I

 Massive public transport trips represent 9,5 million daily trips: 20% for rail modes (railways and subways) 80% for buses Public modal share: 1970 : 67% 1992 : 60% 1995 : 53% MODAL SPLIT AND DEMAND EVOLUTION I

 Fall in participation (1970-1995) differs among transport modes : railways : - 7,7% buses : - 21,4% subway : - 20,3% In contrast, raise in car ownership in the same period is 121%

MODAL SPLIT EVOLUTION 1970-1995

MODES Buses Subway Railways Cars Taxis Others

1970 54.30 5.40 7.00 15.40 6.70 11.20

1992 49.85 3.62 6.37 24.29 3.20 12.67

1995 42.70 4.30 6.46 34.10 4.05 8.40

TRANSPORT SYSTEM I Road Transport 299 bus lines 25.000 km of routes 200 bus enterprises 15.000 vehicles Railways 7 main lines 833 km of tracks, 18 % electrified 1.400 railway cars 256 stations Subway 5 lines and 1 light rail line 44 km of tracks 76 stations 300 subway cars

 TRANSPORT SYSTEM II Taxis 40.000 taxis 20.000 rented cars Semi public transport 2.200 authorized services (contracted buses, charters, rented buses) Private transport 3.000.000 cars Road Infrastructure 23.000 km streets, avenues and highways

INSTITUTIONAL ORGANIZATION

Federal Government : part of the road network (430 km), 145 bus lines (10.000 vehicles), suburban railways and subway Province of Buenos Aires : part of the road network, 59 bus lines (3.000 vehicles) Federal District : local roads network, traffic management, parking regulation, taxis Great Buenos Aires Municipalities : local road network, 95 bus lines (2.000 vehicles), taxis, local traffic management.

MAIN INSTITUTIONAL DIFFICULTIES I The institutional organization of the transport system shows an atomization of the regulatory power in different jurisdictions acting in a not coordinated way Transport agencies work independently in the operation, administration, regulation and control of the transport system MAIN INSTITUTIONAL DIFFICULTIES II

 The system is formed by different networks, with different fare structure and levels of service responding to each agency policy For the operators, investments are difficult to plan Fare integration systems are difficult to implement MAIN INSTITUTIONAL DIFFICULTIES III

 The need to plan, regulate and control the transport system in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires with a single jurisdiction sense has deserved, without any success, the permanent attention of the authorities and experts in the last decades

HISTORIC EVOLUTION I

 Before 1936 : tramways, subways and buses competition. In 1928 appears the first colectivo 1936 - 1948 : urban transport operated by a private corporation with the control of tramway and subway enterprises 1948 - 1960 : stated owned Transportes de Buenos Aires (TBA) was the only operator of the system HISTORIC EVOLUTION II 1960 - 1963 : tramway and bus systems were privatized

 Privatization process was by bidding where TBA workers offered their work compensations to get the lines Tramways were replaced by buses State regulation was established by Presidential Decree HISTORIC EVOLUTION III 1963 - 1997 : capital concentration process takes place. Less partners inside enterprises and less enterprises

operating the services. This process is more intensive in the last 5 years 1991 - 1995 : suburban railways and subways operations were privatized Some bus enterprises are partners of the suburban railway and subway concessionaires MAIN BUS TRANSPORT CHARACTERISTICS I Frequencies are between 3 and 4 minutes in peak hours. All lines run 24 hours in the main route

 Minimun fare is U$S 0.65, maximun fare is U$S 1.35 being the average fare U$S 0.85. Minimun salary is U$S 500 Enterprises employ 3.5 people per vehicle. Each bus runs 80.000 km per year. Every day 95% of the fleet is on service MAIN BUS TRANSPORT CHARACTERISTICS II Bus enterprises receive no subsidy 68% of the users think that the service is good or very good. 71% of them think that fares are cheap or right

 Average size of the fleet by companie is 80 vehicles. In general each enterprise has one line. There are two groups that have 7 lines and more than 500 buses each Bus network is highly dense and competitive between lines and enterprises BUS REGULATION I Government gives 10 years permits Permits can be obtained by bidding process or by permit renewal

 Entrance to the market is restricted and by Government decision Minimun assets and infrastructure is required BUS REGULATION II Routes, number of vehicles per route and service frequencies are established Types of services : common, high quality and express High quality and express services are optional

 Fares are determined by Government (based on distance). High quality services have free fare. Express services fares are 25 - 50% higher than fares of common services BUS REGULATION III Vehicle technical aspects and age limit are established by laws Vehicle technical inspection is required (each 6 months)

 Special driving license for drivers is required (renewal each 2 years) Vehicle and passengers insurance are established BUS REGULATION IV Routes and vehicle number may change To change routes, demand studies are needed Benefits to users (i.e. savings in walking distances and transport costs) are measured as well as loss in passengers for the competitive lines

 Final analysis determines whether it is appropiate to allow changes or not CONTROL A group of inspectors control either in the field or at companies headquarters : Frequencies Routes Vehicle technical standards

 Drivers behaviour USERS COMPLAINTS A toll free number is available for information and complaints Claims give information for the control Claims are classified and used for statistical purposes Enterprises can also complain about competitive companies behaviour

REGULATION STAFF Permits regulation Control Vehicle regulation Users complaints Driving license 15 30 8 8 5

Driving license exams and vehicle technical inspections have been privatized, being supervised by the Government