Located 60 km from Belo Horizonte, Caeté is the latest Brazilian city to adopt free public transportation. The initiative took effect on July 1 and will undergo a six-month trial period, with the potential for permanent implementation. Approved by the City Council, the bill allows residents to use the municipality's six bus lines free of charge. Previously, the fare was R$4.
The program is funded through a monthly subsidy of R$90,000 paid to Transcol Caeté, the transit concessionaire operating in the city, which had previously considered suspending services due to financial difficulties.
Transcol reports carrying an average of 55,000 passengers per month. However, during the pandemic, ridership dropped to 18,000, leading to a significant loss in revenue.
Proposed by the municipal administration, the subsidy amount was adjusted to fit the local budget following a financial impact study. Furthermore, according to Mayor Lucas Coelho Ferreira, Caeté was already spending around R$30,000 on employee transit vouchers.
In return, Transcol is required to provide a passenger and mileage tracking system, adhere to scheduled times and routes, and account for the use of public funds.
Free Public Transit as a Right
The measure guarantees the population's right to public transportation. For economically vulnerable residents, transit fares often act as a barrier to other basic rights, such as accessing healthcare, education, and even looking for employment.
Free transit is also a way to discourage the use of private vehicles, thereby reducing congestion and improving urban air quality. Promoting public transportation can serve as a key public policy to drastically reduce pollutant emissions in cities.
For now, the fare-free system will run through December. Meanwhile, the city government is already drafting a new bill to make the zero-fare policy permanent.
With an estimated population of 45,000, Caeté is the second city in the Belo Horizonte metropolitan area to adopt a zero-fare system. The first was Itatiaiuçu, which implemented free public transit in 2015. Recently, the city of Assis, in the state of São Paulo, also began offering free bus services. In the latter case, the measure will last for the duration of the pandemic.
Via CicloVivo.
This article was written by Marcia Sousa. The translation is powered by AI.
