Public transport faces a structural challenge: maintaining service quality when fare revenues are increasingly insufficient to cover operating and investment costs. Changes in mobility patterns, rising operating costs, technological modernization, and difficulties in adjusting fares are placing growing financial pressure on operators and local governments.
So, can public transport continue to depend primarily on payments made by its users? Public transport generates benefits that go far beyond those who directly use it: it helps reduce congestion, improves access to jobs and services, lowers emissions and pollution, and promotes social inclusion, among other benefits. From this perspective, its financing can be understood as a shared responsibility among users, governments, and other actors who benefit from an efficient mobility system.
This session aims to raise awareness of the importance of developing financial mechanisms that do not rely solely on fares, explore how cities across Latin America are addressing this structural challenge, and reinforce the message that the financial sustainability of public transport should matter to society.
