Zero Fare on Buses Advances in Brazil
The idea of bringing bus fare charges down to zero has been gaining momentum in Brazil. In addition to the mayor of Sao Paulo, Ricardo Nunes (MDB), announcing that he is analyzing the idea, at least 11 cities have started to adopt it. The theme is being debated by the transition team of the president-elect, Lula (PT). Former municipal secretary of Transport in Sao Paulo and part of the transition team, Jilmar Tatto defends the creation of an integrated system, like the SUS, in which the government can send resources to cities. One of the issues that could help advance the proposal is transportation passes. Today, companies pay the benefit to employees who use buses and trains. One of the ideas to fund the free-pass measure would be to change the model: companies would pay the government a transport fee for all employees. Experts consider that a pool of various sources of funds could be created to fund the idea, such as charging for street parking and urban tolls. To date, no major metropolis has completely adopted zero fares because costs are high. Sao Paulo, however, has already pioneered other changes, such as the Bilhete Unico ( transportation card for use on buses, subways, and trains in the capital