SUCCESS STORIES - BUENOS AIRES

More than twelve million people, or one third of the population of Argentina live in the metropolitan region of Buenos Aires, and generate more than twenty million trips per day. The transportation system developed to satisfy this demand includes 13,000 buses, 500 miles of commuter rail lines, 25 miles of subway lines, 40,000 taxis, and 3 million private cars. The paper looks at the success of concessioning of the public transit system which is the direct result of a decision by the federal government in 1991 to franchise the publicly owned railroad system. The concessions took effect in 1994, and five years later, the program has become a strong success, as private operation has dramatically improved service quality and quantity.