SUBE Card System Experiences Widespread Loading and Accreditation Failures

Thousands of public transport passengers in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area faced significant difficulties loading and accrediting balances on their SUBE cards this Friday. The system failures affected mobile applications, service windows, and station terminals, which in some cases were limited to balance inquiries only. SUBE issued an official statement explaining that the intermittent functioning of its channels was caused by connectivity network failures external to the organization.

Reports indicate that the issues persisted for several days, with some users claiming problems began as early as Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, passengers experienced long lines at major transfer points like Constitución station and found that validators on buses were failing to process pending deposits. To mitigate the impact, SUBE advised users to avoid repeating operations and suggested using alternative payment methods, including contactless Visa and Mastercard credit or debit cards, NFC enabled devices, and digital wallets.

One center right source highlighted that the failure was particularly problematic for state run train services, which primarily accept the SUBE card and do not support virtual wallets or bank cards. This source also noted that the service collapse occurred two days after fare increases were implemented for buses, subways, and trains. Another center right source focused on the operational chaos at transit hubs and the specific failure of totems used to validate home banking recharges.