Jalisco agrees to subsidy for transport drivers

The Guadalajara state government, after publishing the new operating rules for bus drivers, announced that each driver will receive between US$0.096 and US$0.15 “for each validated trip” on public transportation in the state’s metropolitan area. This will be provided through a subsidy, following an increase in the fare from US$0.55 to US$0.64.

Considering that approximately 2.5 million trips are made daily, the government will provide between US$231,000 and US$376,000 daily—between US$84,570,000 and US$137,456,000 annually—to bus drivers to “cover inflationary increases in transportation costs.”

The guidelines stipulate that to qualify for the support, operators must be registered as a legal entity, hold a valid concession, and have their concession and vehicle registrations on file with the State Registry of Mobility and Transportation, in addition to the company’s articles of incorporation, among other requirements.

The General Technical Standard for Service Quality establishes 34 indicators covering institutional, equipment, operational, and perception aspects to evaluate the essential requirements for accessing the support.

That standard also stipulates that concessionaires in cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants must undergo periodic evaluations based on these standards; however, the abysmal quality—ranging from the physical condition of the vehicles to the frequency of service—remains one of the main unaddressed complaints from users, who have been paying 17% more per trip since early 2026.