Buenos Aires public transport: SUBE, subte and buses

A subte ride into central Buenos Aires costs ARS 1,753 with a registered SUBE in September 2026. The same card pays for city colectivos, starting at ARS 887.87, and suburban trains, starting at ARS 480. For two people travelling to work by subte and taking the occasional bus, the worked month below comes to about ARS 137,000, or US$90 at ARS 1,520 to US$1.

In Palermo, Belgrano, Recoleta and Caballito, that network can make a car unnecessary. The first useful decision is where a regular journey begins and ends; the next is getting a SUBE that works across all three modes.

Fares depend on the service and the distance

The city and national governments set fares and change them several times a year. These published tariffs apply from 1 September 2026, when city services rose 4.1% and province of Buenos Aires buses rose 4.7%. Bus and train figures are minimum fares: a longer colectivo ride or a trip to the end of a railway line costs more.

Figures published by Buenos Aires City, Emova and the national Transport Secretariat in August and September 2026.

A SUBE card makes the network simpler

Kioscos and SUBE sales points in subte stations sell the card, though a shop that tops up cards may not sell new ones. The purchase price is separate from the travel credit. Registration at sube.gob.ar with your identity details means a lost card can be blocked and its remaining balance moved to a replacement.

Station machines and kioscos load credit directly; home banking and wallet apps also offer top-ups. An app payment needs to be credited, or acreditado, at a terminal, on a compatible NFC phone or on an enabled bus before the fare reader recognises it. The reader displays the remaining balance after you pay.

A card can hold up to ARS 40,000 in credit as of June 2026. If the balance runs low, the saldo negativo allows up to ARS 1,200 of emergency debt on buses and the subte; the next top-up pays that back.

The subte is quickest where the lines meet

Six lines, A, B, C, D, E and H, cover the city. A follows Avenida Rivadavia from Plaza de Mayo towards San Pedrito; B runs along Avenida Corrientes; C joins Retiro and Constitución railway termini. D runs from Catedral through Palermo to Congreso de Tucumán, E crosses the south-west, and north-south H connects with several other lines. The platform's terminal-station sign tells you which way a train is going, especially where a street entrance serves just one direction.

Touch your SUBE at the gate and keep it until you are through. Marked gates also take credit, debit and prepaid cards, NFC phones and Emova QR codes. Within the paid area, signs for combinación lead to connecting lines; going through the barriers means paying another fare. Platform displays show the destination, and passengers get off before others board.

Frequent-rider discounts build over a calendar month with any payment method. From 1 September 2026 the fare drops 20% after 20 trips, 30% after 30 and 40% after 40, bringing a registered-SUBE trip down from ARS 1,753 to ARS 1,051.80 at the last tier. Trains start early and finish in the late evening; the last service varies by line, station and day, and the subte does not run overnight.

Colectivos reach the streets between stations

A bus can take you beyond the subte map, and the network runs through the night, though individual routes may be sparse after midnight. One route number can have several ramales, or branches. The destination sign matters as much as the number when matching an approaching bus to the stop shown on an app.

At the signed stop, passengers raise a hand to signal the bus. Boarding is at the front: the driver sets the distance-based fare after hearing the destination, then the passenger taps a SUBE. Seats at the front are for people who need them. A saved map helps with unfamiliar stops; the bell signals a stop and passengers leave by the rear door. For a late-night arrival or a poorly lit stop, Buenos Aires safety for British families has more context.

Suburban trains and transfer discounts

Trenes Argentinos serves four principal termini: Mitre leaves from Retiro, including the Tigre branch via Vicente López and San Isidro; San Martín also leaves from Retiro; Sarmiento departs Once; and Roca runs from Constitución towards La Plata. Each line has its own destinations, so proximity to a station alone does not establish a useful commute. Where a railway requires it, tapping at both ends gives the distance-based fare.

Red SUBE reduces the second fare by 50% on qualifying combinations. Since August 2026, a train journey followed by the subte has lost that discount. A journey that begins on the subte and continues by train or colectivo can still qualify, as can combinations of nationally run services. Direction therefore changes the price of some otherwise identical journeys.

What a month of commuting adds up to

Suppose two adults in Palermo each take Line D into the centre on 20 weekdays, making 40 subte trips apiece. For each person, the first 20 cost ARS 1,753 each, trips 21 to 30 cost ARS 1,402.40 and trips 31 to 40 cost ARS 1,227.10. That is ARS 61,355 per commuter, or ARS 122,710 for the household, about US$81 at the September 2026 exchange rate used here.

Sixteen bus boardings for visits and shopping, at the minimum city fare, take the total to roughly ARS 137,000, or US$90. Longer bus journeys raise it. For a school run across suburbs, the route and transfers at the actual travel hour may matter more than the fare alone; living near the school or a useful station can change the case for a car.

Argentina drives on the right. For those whose work involves equipment or whose regular journeys cross poorly connected outer districts, a car may be more practical. A UK photocard licence and an International Driving Permit are separate documents, with the permit carried alongside as a translation. Rental companies and insurers set acceptance rules; the FCDO's Argentina travel advice and the city's licensing office set out requirements for residents, and a UK licence may require a test before conversion.