Transport replaces the theoretical rate methodology and the distribution of subsidies

The Secretariat of Transport of the Ministry of Economy approved a new Methodology for the Construction of Theoretical Reference Tariffs (TTR) and new calculation procedures to distribute tariff compensations to urban and suburban passenger motor transport under national jurisdiction. This was done through Resolution 83/2026 (RESOL-2026-83-APN-ST#MEC), signed on November 12, 2026, by Secretary Mariano Ignacio Plencovich and published in the Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic on November 13, 2026, First Section. The measure applies to bus companies in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA) included in Article 2 of Law 25,031.

The fundamental change: energy and cost per kilometer

File EX-2026-103356544–APN-DGDA#MEC indicates that the update of the Average Cost and Income Structure for the period October 2026–January 2027 incorporated concepts linked to energy migration, with the objective of “promoting the diversification of the energy matrix of passenger motor transport and favoring the progressive incorporation of propulsion technologies.”

To ensure these concepts are reflected in the theoretical tariffs, the Directorate of Transport Subsidies, reporting to the National Directorate of Trust Fund Management, developed the new methodology and adapted the distribution procedures. The result is an annex for the “Determination of cost per kilometer by energy type and weighted cost per kilometer” that:

• distinguishes the specific cost per kilometer for diesel, CNG, and electric units;
• calculates a weighted cost based on the share of each technology in the total system;
• consolidates a calculation scheme that reflects the cost structure approved by Resolution 80/2026 (RESOL-2026-80-APN-ST#MEC).

What was approved and its scope

The resolution approves three instruments that integrate the regulation:

• Annex I (IF-2026-109364192-APN-DST#MTR): Methodology for the Construction of Theoretical Reference Tariffs.
• Annex II (IF-2026-109364521-APN-DST#MTR): distribution procedure for compensations for companies providing services within the geographical scope of Article 2 of Law 25,031.
• Annex III (IF-2026-109364701-APN-DST#MTR): distribution procedure for services provided in the administrative units established by Resolution 168/1995 of the former Secretariat of Transport.

The three annexes are published only in the web edition of the Official Gazette. According to Article 3, the methodology and procedures will govern the settlements for the period of October 2026 and subsequent ones, until a new procedure is approved.

Background and regulatory chain

The regulation replaces the scheme established by Resolution 31/2026 (RESOL-2026-31-APN-ST#MEC), which last May approved a methodology for theoretical fares and the distribution procedures applicable from June 2026. Previously, Resolution 80/2026 of October 28 had modified the Operating Cost Calculation Methodology for the AMBA—approved by Resolution 37/2013 of the former Ministry of the Interior and Transport and already adjusted by Resolution 86/2025 (RESOL-2025-86-APN-ST#MEC)—and established the calculations for average costs and revenues and the compensation amounts for October, November, and December 2026 and January 2027.

The underlying framework consists of the SISTAU regime of Decree 652/2002, the Complementary Compensation Regime of Decree 678/2006, and the trust of Decree 976/2001, whose trustee is the Banco de la Nación Argentina. The National Directorate of Transport Regulatory Norms, the Directorate of Economic Management of Motor Transport, the Undersecretariat of Motor Transport, and the permanent legal service of the Ministry of Economy were involved.

Notifications

Article 4 provides for communicating the measure to the National Commission for Transport Regulation (CNRT), the National Directorate of Technological Development (DNDT), and Nación Servicios Sociedad Anónima (NSSA), and notifying the representative entities of passenger motor transport.

The change is significant because the distribution of subsidies stops looking only at the average cost of the system and begins to recognize the cost of each technology: each company in the AMBA will see the proportion of diesel, CNG, and electric units it operates impact its compensation.

Source: Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic, November 13, 2026, First Section (official reference: RESOL-2026-83-APN-ST#MEC).