Quito's Public Bus Fares Being Analyzed For Possible Increase

Hopefully I'm not too far off topic, if so, I apologize in advance.  Do you know if the electric rates went up recently?  Just got the highest electric bill I've ever had for last month and it wasn't even that hot here.  My step son was here for almost 2 weeks and ran his AC in his room at night, but that shouldn't have raised my bill that much since he's visited before.  We did nothing else that was not with in our norm, and my bill was over $200.

I looked at my recent bill and it's the same as previous months so for Quito at least I don't think rates went up. Perhaps it's different in Manta as there are more than one electric companies I think.

$200 is one of the higher electric bills I've heard of. Must be a big place.

My bill averages between $50-$75, and that's because I turn on the heat after it rains to lessen the humidity.

For whatever insane reason, without any logical explanation and having an inground pool, last month was the biggest amount of kw's we have used in over 2 years.  I'm only hoping that they estimated my bill, which happens often here, but hasn't for me in a long while.  I would rather spend $200 a month in an electric bill in Miami than manta ecuador.  Just my opinion.

40 Quito police had to be called in to calm down protesters at a rally against increasing the bus fare.

The proposed increase would be five centavos, which would raise the fare from 25 to 30 centavos.

That's small potatoes for most Expats .. especially since seniors with cédulas would only pay the half-fare, which would rise from 12 to 15 centavos.

And the bus companies say they need the boost in income to improve the buses after 14 years without a fare increase.

However, for low-income Ecuadorians in a tough economy, it's evidently an important pocket-book issue.

Data source:  www.cuencahighlife.com

  -- cccmedia

Wow, 5 cents and there are protests.  I've never taken a bus in my life except the DOTS bus (of which I was always the youngest on board) to the casino.  That cost me $25, but that was always my alone stress free time, which I was happy to pay, and I always got a free drink coupon and $25 in free play and a coupon off of the buffet.  I recently had, from here on international roaming, to book my husband an Uber (his phone service is from here and his battery was dying and he was running out of wifi).  Long story, but he left his US driver's license here and couldn't pick up his rental car in Miami.  The Uber ride was $50 on my credit card, and the taxi would have probably been almost double.  So when I don't have the right change for a cab here and they don't give me change back, I just toss it up to US prices and let it go.  Maybe I should start taking the bus, but I would have no idea which one to take and who knows where I would end up.  Not to mention they have no AC, and seldom come to a complete stop for you to get on and off.  I figure, with my luck, I would break a leg or something else so a cab is cheaper than medical bills for me, lol.  I'm hoping this doesn't mean the subsidy is going away on the gas canisters.

Quito's bus drivers went on strike yesterday -- Friday, August 25th, 2017 -- after the municipal council decided not to raise bus fares to 30 centavos and instead remanded the matter to committee for further review.

The strike may be illegal as providers of public transit are not supposed to go on strike under the law.

School buses are being utilized to cover some routes.  The pico y placa law that bans some vehicles from using certain roads during rush hour have been suspended.  The city is asking taxis to provide 25-centavo rides.

The strike is not affecting the Trole and Ecovía lines.

Source:  www.cuencahighlife.com

  -- cccmedia

This is something the websites probably don't know because they generalize. In some routes the buses were operating just fine and in one area I saw people lining up and getting on a school bus in the evening. Quiteños, and I think all Ecuadorians are resilient and are able to cope with difficult situations quite well.

Yesterday I went shopping at mall jardín, and super maxi and it was similar to non-summer days. Now, I don't know if that was the result of the bus strike or if people are going back to their towns, western Ecuadorians going back to their countries, and of course school vacation is almost over.