According to BioBioChile, the government penalized twelve public transport operators in the Valparaíso Region. The penalties stem from failures recorded during last July's rains.
According to Radio Bío Bío, the penalized companies are Viña Bus, Sol y Mar S.A., Buses del Gran Valparaíso S.A., Top Tur S.A., Trolebuses de Chile S.A., EFE Valparaíso, Transrural, Agdabus, Inversiones Sol del Pacífico, SFP, Transporte BP and Ñandú. EFE is the State Railways Company, which operates the Merval train between Valparaíso and Limache.
Valparaíso Regional Transport Secretary Matías Valenzuela explained that the ministry "applied penalties to the subsidies" paid to operators. According to the regional secretary, the measure addresses "variations and failures to meet requirements for service frequency and operational fleets during the emergency".
In practice, that means fewer buses and trains running, or less frequent services, on the days when rain made travel difficult. The hardest hit were users who depend on public transport to get to work or classes. The source does not specify how many passengers were affected or on which routes.
The financial penalty is concrete. According to the payment statement from the Regional Secretariat's technical team, operators within the exclusion perimeter received a $1,749 million penalty against their subsidies. The exclusion perimeter is the regulated system under which the state provides subsidies in exchange for companies meeting service standards. The report does not state how much each company pays individually.
The fines could increase. Valenzuela said the ministry is also considering deductions for failures to meet operating conditions, which are monitored by the Ministry of Transport's central administration. According to the regional secretary, those proceedings are undergoing administrative review and have neither an amount nor a decision date yet.
