On March 17, the National Congress of Brazil decided to maintain the veto of the President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro, to the Bill of Law 3.364 / 2020, which deals with the transfer of federal resources to guarantee the maintenance of the provision of the public transport service of passengers in all Brazilian cities in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. The National Association of Passenger Rail Operators (ANPTrilhos), an entity that represents the companies that operate passenger transport on rails throughout Brazil, regrets the decision.
Government aid was a hope for operators to be able to maintain the operation of the systems. According to Joubert Flores, Chairman of the ANPTrilhos Council: “The sector resents the lack of specific measures to deal with the public transport crisis, even though its importance for the economic recovery of the whole country is recognized by the Federal Government and State Governments.”
ANPTrilhos still maintains negotiations with the Federal and State Governments in the search for alternatives that can enable the full maintenance of transport services in all the cities where it operates, aiming to guarantee not only the service to the citizen, but also the investments made in Concessions and Partnerships Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) across the sector.
