QCOSTARICA – The latest request for an increase in fuel prices by the state refinery, Recope, made last Friday would result in an increase of 16% in bus fares, which would make it difficult to continue the service, transporters say.
And it is that, if the price of fuel continues to rise, according to
Silvia Bolaños, executive vice president of the National Chamber of Transport (Canatrans), said on Monday that is fuel prices continue to rise, this could cause a “technical stoppage” of the bus services.
“We are no longer talking about a possible scenario or speculation; It is about the harsh reality that the country is experiencing, which makes it increasingly difficult to guarantee the continuity of the service,” said Bolaños.
For this reason, together with the National Confederation of Development Associations (Conadeco), transporters requested for the temporary suspension of the collection of the tax for the public transport sector to be approved.
“We need the government and the lawmakers to agree and find a way to eliminate the tax borne by users of this public service and not continue to bill those who have the least,” said Daniel Quesada, president of Conadeco.
Last Friday, Recope requested the regulating authority, the Autoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos (Aresep), approve an increase of up to ¢121 in fuel prices that would be in effect most likely the first week in April.
On Monday, the government presented legislators with a plan to reduce up to ¢92 per liter of fuel for buses and taxis by way of tax credits that would consist of deducting ¢78.15 from the tax for each liter of regular gasoline purchased, ¢78.15 per liter of super gasoline and ¢92.40 per liter of diesel.
Currently, a liter of gasoline is ¢822, regular ¢804, and diesel, ¢724.
