Transportation, electricity, and gas: all the increases coming in May

The month of May will begin with increases for Argentine society, so the blow to the wallet will begin to be felt next Thursday, May 1st. In this context, there are areas, such as transportation , that will see larger increases than expected by the population, who estimate their expenses based on last month's 3.7% inflation .

Despite this, there are products and services that will increase above this percentage, which does represent a rise that is uneven compared to what Argentines expected. Thus, the increases will take effect this week. One of the first sectors to announce an increase in its services is drinking water and sewage services in the City of Buenos Aires and the Greater Buenos Aires area, provided by Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos SA (AySA), which will increase by 1% starting in May.

The increase, equal to that of April, is due to the application of the monthly indexation of service costs in line with inflation, as established by the National Executive. The average bill for users in the lower zone will rise from $19,756 in April to $19,954 in May; for those in the middle zone, the bill will jump from $24,586 to $24,832, while those in the upper zone will go from $27,073 to $27,344 on average.

Electricity and gas rates will experience a new increase throughout the country in May, ranging between 2.5% and 3% . In addition, the increase scheme proposed by distributors and transporters at the public hearings held in February is scheduled to take effect in June. This means that the method of measuring the increases will be different starting the following month, June.

Tenants who signed contracts governed by the repealed law regulating the rental market will have to face the updated Leasehold Contract Index, which shows an annual increase of 95.24% for May. This continues the slowdown experienced for several months. In April, the rent increase was 116.85%, in March it was 149.3%, in February it was 174%, and in January it was 190.69%.

Transportation will also increase starting in May, with a 5.9% and 5.7% increase for buses in the province of Buenos Aires and the city of Buenos Aires, respectively. Thus, fares will cost between $450 and $617, depending on the number of kilometers traveled and the jurisdiction.

Subway fares will increase by 5.7% starting May 1, reaching $919, while the Premetro fare will rise to $321.65 for users with registered SUBE cards. Those without registered cards will pay $1,461.21 and $511.42, respectively.

Toll rates in the Buenos Aires jurisdiction will also increase by 5.7% in May. The new rates for light two-axle vehicles on the 25 de Mayo Highway and Perito Moreno Highway will be $2,637.43 during off-peak hours and $3,729.84 during peak hours; on the Illia Highway, Retiro II, Sarmiento, and Salguero highways, they will be $1,093.66 during off-peak hours and $1,550.63 during peak hours; while on Alberti Highways, they will be $833.50 during off-peak hours and $1,052.67 during peak hours.

Fuel prices, meanwhile, will go against the grain of the other increases and will fall by up to 4% on average , according to YPF. This is because crude oil prices fell, and the oil company passed this decrease on to the pumps. However, the other oil companies have not yet announced any price cuts.