Drivers warn they will not be able to maintain fares and are evaluating a fare increase

Santo Domingo.– The recent speech by President Luis Abinader has raised alarms in the transportation sector, where public transport drivers claim they are analyzing a possible increase in the fare due to the increase in operating costs. According to the drivers, the situation has become unsustainable, especially due to the increases in fuel prices, which prevents them from maintaining the current fare for much longer without affecting their profitability. Amidst the uncertainty, some drivers warn that an increase could translate into the loss of passengers compared to other transportation alternatives.

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“We see it today as expensive at 35; if they raise it by one more, many passengers are going to be lost within what is the public transport, the engines and Uber. The public transport route is going to collapse. The president must find a way to address that,” expressed driver Carlos.

Other drivers, meanwhile, acknowledge that the measure would directly affect users, although they insist that the increase would be inevitable given the rise in fuel.

"Of course it's going to affect him a lot, since after one has lowered the flow of everything and with high fuel, one would have to mistreat the user by raising the transport," said another driver.

Likewise, there are those who believe that the increase in the fare is a direct consequence of the rise in fuel prices and that it must be applied in order to sustain the service.

“The right thing is to increase it, imagine, from 210 and go up to 240, obviously the fare has to go up,” Marcos affirmed.

Meanwhile, public transport users warn that an increase in the fare would represent an additional blow to the family economy, amid the high cost of living.