Brasília - The president of the National Association of Urban Transportation Companies (NTU), Otávio Cunha, says that the sector has been in crisis for a decade because of high operational costs and low passenger purchasing power. Cunha says the cost of a bus ride is too high for passengers and too low to pay for real operating expenses. "We have reached the conclusion that the solution is lower passenger fees," he declared.

But the only way to charge less is to reduce costs, Cunha explains, as he calls for subsidies and lower fuel costs. Diesel has always been 9% of urban transportation operating expenses, now it is running at 25%, he complains.

Cunha says surveys show that 37 million Brazilians have stopped using urban transportation because of its cost. The same surveys have found that 60 million Brazilians do use urban transportation daily.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Benedito Mendonça
Translator: Allen Bennett
08/27/2004