Buenos Aires, January 31 (NA) -- Workers' wallets will face a new and severe pressure starting next week, when an incremental increase scheme comes into effect, affecting everything from public transport to private medicine. The Government of the City of Buenos Aires confirmed that bus and subway fares will have an immediate update of 4.8%, inaugurating a monthly adjustment mechanism calculated using the IPC of the INDEC plus an additional 2%. According to projections for the second month of the year, a high-level household will need at least $31,709 to cover the water and sewerage rate. In the housing sector, tenants who still maintain contracts under the now-repealed Rent Law will see a 34.6% increase due to the Rental Contracts Index (ICL), a figure that, although high, shows a deceleration compared to the 50.3% recorded in September. To this is added the health sector: prepaid medicine companies have already notified their affiliates that fees will increase by an average of 2.8%. With this scenario of a generalized 'tariff hike', February is shaping up to be a critical month for the domestic economy, where the constant adjustment of fixed costs once again tests the consumption capacity of Argentine households. 'The tariff update seeks to guarantee the sustainability of the service,' explained from the Buenos Aires Executive, arguing that operational costs jumped 84.85% in the last analyzed period. Under this new tariff scheme, the minimum bus fare for the 31 lines that run exclusively within the Federal Capital will cost $650.11 for users with a registered SUBE card, while the subway fare will rise to $1,320. As reported by the Argentine News Agency, the impact will also extend to basic network services; AySA users in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area will receive bills with a 4% increase, bringing the average bill to $26,899.
