Key Actors in the Public Transport System of Greater La Plata.

Barriers and Opportunities as Factors for System Improvement

Abstract

The public transport system in the city of La Plata currently suffers from significant deficiencies in quality, coverage, and its capacity to meet demand. These issues stem from a lack of integrated planning between mobility and urban development, the erosion of municipal control over transport, discontinuity in local governance, the increasing influence of private sector actors, and the impact of
subsidy policies on supply, exacerbated by  speculative business practices since 2002. Social network theory is applied to study the interactions and power dynamics among key social actors, mapping relationships and structural barriers that
hinder integrative solutions. Examining the public transport system from 2015 to 2023, the analysis identifies four critical issues: the asymmetric positions of economic actors in relation to the
State, the limited organizational capacity of the regulatory authority, the lack of coordination among state actors at the local, provincial, and national levels, and the absence of user representation. The study concludes with recommendations for a comprehensive restructuring of the transport system through integrative and participatory management.