On Friday, the 3rd, the city council of Belo Horizonte will vote on the
bill that proposes free bus fares in the city. The proposal is the
result of twelve years of organizing and struggle by popular movements
since 2013 and now culminates in this vote. There were popular and
self-managed assemblies with thousands of people during the June Days,
occupations of the city council, actions at city hall, in front of
mayors' homes, at Setra-BH (the employers' union of bus companies),
educational activities in schools, universities, unions, communities,
housing occupations, neighborhoods, cultural collectives, and other
actions. All of these made the people of Belo Horizonte place urban
mobility as the most important issue, alongside health, to be improved
in the city.
During these 12 years of struggle, the mobilization prevented some fare
hikes, denounced the "black box" of transport companies, and endured
harsh repression. In recent years, bus fares have not reached even more
exorbitant levels thanks to ever-increasing subsidies from the city
hall, intensifying the contradiction of private control over public
transport. The current proposal provides that transport would be funded
by a new tax paid by companies with ten or more employees, replacing the
current system in which employers pay transport vouchers
(vale-transporte) for their workers. Studies by UFMG estimate that the
measure would have an average impact of less than 1% on the payroll and
would not exceed R$185 per employee per month. Although this bill does
not yet remove the bus companies from the equation, its approval would
represent a huge advance for the people in their basic right to come and
go - whether for work, study, or leisure - and to access public
facilities in the city, which remain highly centralized.
Zero Fare has already been implemented in more than 100 municipalities
across Brazil, including medium-sized cities, proving that the project
is viable, encourages the use of public transport, and guarantees the
right to the city. There is great expectation that the BH city council
will approve the measure. However, in recent weeks, Mayor Álvaro Damião
of União Brasil has positioned himself against the proposal and
reorganized his allied council members to vote against the bill. It's no
surprise that yet another mayor is siding against the people's interests
to favor the bus companies, who will no longer be able to profit from
fuller buses (since payment will be calculated per distance traveled)
and will face a more transparent system. Belo Horizonte could become the
first Brazilian capital to have free buses, dispelling the myth that
this policy is unfeasible for large cities and potentially triggering a
domino effect in other capitals. This makes it strategically important
for bus owners nationwide that the BH city council votes against the
project.
By working to veto the "Busão 0800" bill, Álvaro Damião says Yes to the
businessmen and delivers a resounding No to a basic right of the
population that has long fought and yearned for the ability to move
around the city without it being a privilege reserved only for those who
can pay.
Zero Fare Now!
For a life without turnstiles!
Organização Socialista Libertária
October 2025
https://socialismolibertario.net/2025/10/02/tarifa-zero-onibus-bh/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
bill that proposes free bus fares in the city. The proposal is the
result of twelve years of organizing and struggle by popular movements
since 2013 and now culminates in this vote. There were popular and
self-managed assemblies with thousands of people during the June Days,
occupations of the city council, actions at city hall, in front of
mayors' homes, at Setra-BH (the employers' union of bus companies),
educational activities in schools, universities, unions, communities,
housing occupations, neighborhoods, cultural collectives, and other
actions. All of these made the people of Belo Horizonte place urban
mobility as the most important issue, alongside health, to be improved
in the city.
During these 12 years of struggle, the mobilization prevented some fare
hikes, denounced the "black box" of transport companies, and endured
harsh repression. In recent years, bus fares have not reached even more
exorbitant levels thanks to ever-increasing subsidies from the city
hall, intensifying the contradiction of private control over public
transport. The current proposal provides that transport would be funded
by a new tax paid by companies with ten or more employees, replacing the
current system in which employers pay transport vouchers
(vale-transporte) for their workers. Studies by UFMG estimate that the
measure would have an average impact of less than 1% on the payroll and
would not exceed R$185 per employee per month. Although this bill does
not yet remove the bus companies from the equation, its approval would
represent a huge advance for the people in their basic right to come and
go - whether for work, study, or leisure - and to access public
facilities in the city, which remain highly centralized.
Zero Fare has already been implemented in more than 100 municipalities
across Brazil, including medium-sized cities, proving that the project
is viable, encourages the use of public transport, and guarantees the
right to the city. There is great expectation that the BH city council
will approve the measure. However, in recent weeks, Mayor Álvaro Damião
of União Brasil has positioned himself against the proposal and
reorganized his allied council members to vote against the bill. It's no
surprise that yet another mayor is siding against the people's interests
to favor the bus companies, who will no longer be able to profit from
fuller buses (since payment will be calculated per distance traveled)
and will face a more transparent system. Belo Horizonte could become the
first Brazilian capital to have free buses, dispelling the myth that
this policy is unfeasible for large cities and potentially triggering a
domino effect in other capitals. This makes it strategically important
for bus owners nationwide that the BH city council votes against the
project.
By working to veto the "Busão 0800" bill, Álvaro Damião says Yes to the
businessmen and delivers a resounding No to a basic right of the
population that has long fought and yearned for the ability to move
around the city without it being a privilege reserved only for those who
can pay.
Zero Fare Now!
For a life without turnstiles!
Organização Socialista Libertária
October 2025
https://socialismolibertario.net/2025/10/02/tarifa-zero-onibus-bh/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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