The Ministry of Transportation established that the collectives up to 13 years old will be able to circulate on the streets, instead of the 10-year limit that was previously set, on the understanding that they do not present safety problems as long as they undergo periodic technical reviews, through Resolution 10/2024 published in it Official bulletin.
Although the Traffic Law 24,449 of 1994 prohibits the circulation of buses that are more than 10 years old, exceptions to this regulation were established on numerous occasions, since Decree 779/95 enables the State to allow them to continue circulating under certain conditions once seniority exceeded with a maximum of 3 years.
In fact, since 2001, extensions have been frequent for economic reasons and to reduce operating costs.
For example, at the end of 2021, 2008 vehicles were allowed to circulate until June 2022 as an exception.
Subsequently, in June 2022, the 2008 and 2009 models were allowed to circulate for two years beyond the 13-year limit, that is, up to 15 years, as long as they pass the Mandatory Technical Review (RTO) every 3 months.
Last November, 2010 model vehicles were added to this exception.
Transport took into account in these extensions “the prolonged cessation of activities” of the sector during the Coronavirus pandemic.
The area decided today to make the extensions permanent and now all urban and interurban buses of national production will be able to circulate for 13 years, without the need to request extensions, requiring approval of the RTO every 4 months.
The exceptions that allow circulation of up to 15 years for the 2008, 2009 and 2010 models will continue in force.
In taking this measure, Transportation cited a report from the National Commission for Traffic and Road Safety that stated that, “from a technical point of view, it was possible to evaluate over more than two decades that units with an age of up to 13 years, under a strict control regime of mandatory technical reviews every 4 months, do not present safety problems.
According to the Argentine Association of Automotive Transport Entrepreneurs (AAETA), the current age of the fleet averages 7 years.
Among the oldest units in circulation that are over 10 years old, there are 41 from 2009 models, 344 from 2010 models, 757 from 2011 models, 1,160 from 2012 models and 1,845 from 2013 models.
The average seniority usually reflects the economic situation of the country as well as the tariff and subsidy policies: in the late 1990s it reached 4 years, then rose to more than 8 years in the first years after 2001, falling to 3 in 2013 and then resume an upward trend.
Source: Ambito
