Land transportation workers, including bus drivers and truckers, launched a strike mid-December to protest the government’s inaction amid climbing fuel prices. Higher prices resulted from the conjunction of lifting fuel subsidies, the currency devaluation, and the rise of international fuel prices. When the government lifted the subsidies in the previous months, people expected replacing the commodity subsidy with cash cards, to alleviate the heavy burden of the crisis. The cash card plan was ratified by parliament, but it still awaits funding. While being a more efficient and cheaper alternative to subsidies, LIMS insisted cash cards are not a long-term solution to the economic crisis. This program must be temporary, that helps people cope with the lifting of subsidies in the short run.
To ease the burden of fuel prices, Lebanon should be able to switch from individual vehicles to common transport. For that purpose, LIMS suggested costless solutions that do not exhaust the government’s budget: (1) allowing a higher number of taxi cab license plates, than the current 41,000 and (2) freeing the taxi and bus fares from price controls to allow for more diverse services. Having more common transport vehicles on the roads, would decrease people’s dependency on their cars and reduce the associated costs. Additionally, this would cause a drop in air pollution and fuel demand. LIMS urged the government to consider such quick and inexpensive solutions, saying that a government-operated public transportation sector would be inefficient and simply stretch the budget just like the subsidy program did.

• Are Cash Cards An Effective Solution, December 9, 2021: El Nashra, Article AR
• A Public Transportation Solution To Support The Lebanese People, December 14, 2021: Lebanon 24, Article AR