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Free bus and rail travel could increase disposable income, reduce inequalities, and primarily benefit peripheries, the Black population, and vulnerable families
Zero fare on public transport in Brazil’s 27 capitals could generate an annual economic impact of R$ 60.3 billion, according to a study released this Tuesday, 5, by researchers from the University of Brasília (UnB) and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).
According to the research, free bus and rail travel could function as an income distribution policy. In this sense, the effect would be comparable to the impact of Bolsa Família, created two decades ago as a national benchmark in the fight against poverty.
Study points to direct effect on families’ pockets
The research, titled Zero fare on public transport as an income distribution policy, was coordinated by Professor Thiago Trindade, from the Institute of Political Science at UnB.
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According to the survey, free metropolitan bus and rail transport could transform daily spending on fares into disposable income.
Thus, millions of families would no longer have to allocate part of their budget to mandatory commutes.
According to the researchers, this money would quickly return to the economy through consumption.
Therefore, the policy would have a direct effect on commerce, revenue collection, and income circulation.
Real injection would reach R$ 45.6 billion
However, the study discounted 24.38% of existing free passes and exemptions in the country.
Currently, the elderly, students, and people with disabilities already benefit from fare reductions in different systems.
This volume represents about R$ 14.7 billion already circulating in the economy.
Therefore, according to the researchers, the real injection generated by zero fare would be R$ 45.6 billion per year.
To arrive at the calculation, the researchers used data from the 2024 National Mobility Survey and indicators from bus operators and metro-rail systems.
Zero fare could function as an indirect wage
According to Thiago Trindade, the measure would represent an immediate injection of liquidity into the pockets of Brazilian families.
Thus, the amount previously spent on fares would become disposable income for other expenses.
Furthermore, according to the researchers, free travel would have a greater impact among the vulnerable population.
Mainly among residents of peripheries, low-income workers, and the Black population.
For this reason, the study treats zero fare as a type of indirect wage.
Thus, free public transport would cease to be merely a mobility policy and would also act against social and racial inequalities.
Free travel could be treated as a social right
According to the research, zero fare could be understood as a social right, similar in logic to SUS (Brazil’s public health system) and public education.
In this context, the researchers state that a national free transport policy would reinforce Brazil’s leading role in global experiences of inequality reduction.
Therefore, the proposal appears in the study as an action for urban mobility, income distribution, and democratic deepening.
Funding could replace transport vouchers
Finally, the study also points to ways to finance a national policy of free public transport.
According to UnB professors, one possibility would be to replace the current public transport voucher system with another model.
In this format, private and public companies with ten or more employees could contribute to financing the free service.
However, according to the research group’s estimate, 81.5% of establishments would be exempt from the contribution.
Thus, the proposal would seek to expand the zero fare without affecting most companies.
According to Thiago Trindade, it would be possible to create a national zero-fare program without burdening the Union’s budget.
Given this scenario, the direct question remains: should zero fare be treated only as a transport policy or as a new national income distribution tool?
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