It was processed at the Porto Alegre City Council complementary bill which establishes zero fares on public transport in the Capital. The text also creates the Urban Mobility Tax (TMU) to fund the system. The author of the initiative is councilor Roberto Robaina (PSOL).
The proposal includes TMU in the list of taxes charged by the municipality. The fee will apply to the actual or potential use of the Capital’s public transport service, provided or made available directly by the Municipal Executive or through an administrative concession.
The project defines TMU taxpayers as corporate employers with headquarters, branches or any establishment in the city of Porto Alegre, whose employees benefit, effectively or potentially, from the transport service. The monthly fee will be 26 Municipal Financial Units (UFMs) per employee.
In 2024 values, 26 UFMs correspond to R$ 143.23. According to the proposal, companies with fewer than ten employees will pay half this amount. The TMU replaces the company’s payment of transportation vouchers for employees residing in Porto Alegre.
According to project estimates, the collection capacity would be approximately R$63 million per month, higher than the monthly operating cost of the system, which, in 2023, was R$58 million, including the profit on the service.
“Strengthened, quality and accessible public transport for the population has important impacts on reducing greenhouse gases, protecting the environment, improving quality and living conditions in urban areas and strengthening local commerce, as it increases the circulation of people, occupying the sidewalks and generating flow and vitality in the regions. There are also benefits to the family economy and access to education”, argues the councilor in the explanatory memorandum of the project.
Right to transport
The text also establishes that public transport concession contracts may be terminated or modified to better suit public interest purposes, respecting the prerogatives of public administration, the rights of the contractor and the necessary maintenance of economic-financial balance.
According to the project, the zero-fare policy aims to materialize the social right to transport provided for in the Constitution. If the proposal is approved, the complementary law will come into force one year after the date of its publication.