MOREIRA, M. R. P.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/1554286042363904; MOREIRA, Mauricio Renato Pina.
Resumo:
Brazilian cities/ generally speaking, face serious deficiencies
with regard to the bus fleets that serve their populations. In quantitative
terms, the fleets are insufficient, presenting unacceptable patterns of
overcrowding. This situation w i l l continue to worsen until the year 2000
unless the problem is tackled with the priority due to i t . The daily demand
for bus transportation in 1990 in Brazil's main urban areas w i l l have
increased by another 11. 5 million passengers per day by the turn of the
century. Qualitatively, the age of the vehicles, together with their
precarious maintenance, accounts for a significant part of the poor service
provided.
In terms of i t s productive capacity, the Brazilian bus industry
is in a position to meet the demand of the internal market; i t needs ,
however, to improve the standards of quality of the vehicles, especially
the items relating to the comfort and safety of the users. Moreover, the
high price of new buses has been one of the chief constraints on the
renewal and expansion of the fleet.
The general rule prevailing in Brazilian cities is the
nonexistence of policies for the renewal and expansion of the fleet of
buses. A historical analysis of the Recife Metropolitan Region, the pilot
area chosen for the present research, nonetheless revealed some
satisfactory progress, resulting largely from the existence of lines of
finance and the reasonable financial equilibrium of the local public
system of passenger transportation.
Nevertheless, in order that the effects of the aforementioned
factors may be lasting, the policy to be implemented should include institu
tional mechanisms, recently introduced in fact, and an increased control
over the destination of the monetary value corresponding to the depreciation
of vehicles. I t w i l l also be necessary to undertake a more thorough
analysis of the method of calculating the depreciation of vehicles and to
unlink a number of items in the cost analysis used for fare calculation
purposes from the price of a new bus.
Additional measures should provide for the coordination of the
whole process by the local transportation authority and a greater emphasis
on vehicle maintenance. At the federal level, measures should include the
strengthening of the lines of credit to the sector and a more effective
control of the prices charged by Brazilian bus manufacturers.