This article describes the deregulation of bus services in Santiago and provincial towns in Chile from 1977 onwards. In 1977 there were three types of bus services in Santiago: a public sector company (ETC), micros and taxibuses. These last two were owned by individuals and grouped into associations which operated the routes. State control fixed fares, authorised routes, set frequencies and assigned buses to specific routes. In 1979 entry to the sector was deregulated and permission to operate became almost automatic. Since 1987 the last digit of number of the licence plate has been used , in rotation, to restrict vehicles from operating each weekday. This benefits operators by increasing the number of passengers by around 25% and reducing congestion and therefore operating costs. Fares were controlled until September 1980 when control was dropped for routes feeding the Santiago Metro. Complete deregulation came in June 1983 for Santiago and March 1984 for other parts of the country. The result was that fares rose and the taxibus fare merged with the microbus fare. Buses of all types on all routes and at all times came to charge the same fare. Taxibuses emerged as the preferred choice for passengers.
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