The public transport crisis in the Greater Resistencia Metropolitan Area will reach the Chaco Legislature this week. The Industry Committee of the Chamber of Deputies called representatives of service operators to a meeting on Tuesday, July 14, with the aim of reviewing the system's deterioration and seeking alternatives to prevent the service from worsening further.
The meeting will bring together business representatives, lawmakers and, potentially, provincial government officials. The undersecretary of Transport, José Luis Picaluk, was also invited, although his attendance was still awaiting confirmation. The call was promoted by committee chair Katia Blanc after a series of complaints from users affected by suspended routes and increasingly irregular frequencies.
The most visible point of the conflict was ERSA's decision to interrupt service on line 2 and branch 106 BC. That measure left numerous neighborhoods in Greater Resistencia without direct coverage and forced many residents to walk several blocks to reach other routes or pay for remises and ride-hailing apps to solve everyday travel needs.
The problem, however, is broader than a single suspension. Since last year, several companies in the system have begun using Preventive Crisis Procedures due to rising operating costs, falling revenue and a lack of resources to cover wages and fleet maintenance. ERSA Urbano and TCM applied rotating suspensions and reduced working hours, while San Fernando announced that it would begin a similar process before the provincial labor authority.
Financial strain has also reached other operators. Tiro Federal, Cordial SRL and Microbús SRL initiated creditor protection proceedings, a sign of the depth of the imbalance affecting metropolitan transport. Behind the current situation is the withdrawal of national funding for urban transport in the country's interior, which shifted greater pressure onto provinces without enough compensation to sustain the system.
The Chaco government warned that no concessionaire may unilaterally abandon service and announced controls over routes and frequencies. Expectations now rest on whether the legislative meeting can organize information, bring positions closer together and open a framework for consensus before the service enters an even harder-to-reverse stage of deterioration.
