Rather than buy a reloadable plastic subway card or paper 10-ride passes, I buy my subway cards in two-ride or occasionally even one-ride units. This means that one out of every two rides requires standing on line and waiting to buy a subte pass. What is the reason for this madness? If I didn’t buy individually and in small quantities, I’d have to wait on 45-minute lines at the bank to get enough monedas (coins) for the privitized -- and therefore, non-uniform -- bus system, which doesn’t accept bills or any sort of prepaid cards. And even if I did wait at the bank, I’d probably get no more than $5 pesos anyway.
Even though BA doesn’t usually feel all that different from other busy noisy highly developed cities, it’s amazing how inefficiencies lead to other inefficiencies: no monedas, long subte pass lines.
For more on the moneda shortage, read Slate’s funny piece.
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