A-Infos (en) Brazil. OSL: With the slogan "BH: the city of yes", Álvaro Damião says NO to Zero Fare on Belo Horizonte buses (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

On Friday, the 3rd, the city council of Belo Horizonte will vote on the 
bill that proposes free bus fares in the city. The proposal is the 
result of twelve years of organizing and struggle by popular movements 
since 2013 and now culminates in this vote. There were popular and 
self-managed assemblies with thousands of people during the June Days, 
occupations of the city council, actions at city hall, in front of 
mayors' homes, at Setra-BH (the employers' union of bus companies), 
educational activities in schools, universities, unions, communities, 
housing occupations, neighborhoods, cultural collectives, and other 
actions. All of these made the people of Belo Horizonte place urban 
mobility as the most important issue, alongside health, to be improved 
in the city.

During these 12 years of struggle, the mobilization prevented some fare 
hikes, denounced the "black box" of transport companies, and endured 
harsh repression. In recent years, bus fares have not reached even more 
exorbitant levels thanks to ever-increasing subsidies from the city 
hall, intensifying the contradiction of private control over public 
transport. The current proposal provides that transport would be funded 
by a new tax paid by companies with ten or more employees, replacing the 
current system in which employers pay transport vouchers 
(vale-transporte) for their workers. Studies by UFMG estimate that the 
measure would have an average impact of less than 1% on the payroll and 
would not exceed R$185 per employee per month. Although this bill does 
not yet remove the bus companies from the equation, its approval would 
represent a huge advance for the people in their basic right to come and 
go - whether for work, study, or leisure - and to access public 
facilities in the city, which remain highly centralized.

Zero Fare has already been implemented in more than 100 municipalities 
across Brazil, including medium-sized cities, proving that the project 
is viable, encourages the use of public transport, and guarantees the 
right to the city. There is great expectation that the BH city council 
will approve the measure. However, in recent weeks, Mayor Álvaro Damião 
of União Brasil has positioned himself against the proposal and 
reorganized his allied council members to vote against the bill. It's no 
surprise that yet another mayor is siding against the people's interests 
to favor the bus companies, who will no longer be able to profit from 
fuller buses (since payment will be calculated per distance traveled) 
and will face a more transparent system. Belo Horizonte could become the 
first Brazilian capital to have free buses, dispelling the myth that 
this policy is unfeasible for large cities and potentially triggering a 
domino effect in other capitals. This makes it strategically important 
for bus owners nationwide that the BH city council votes against the 
project.

By working to veto the "Busão 0800" bill, Álvaro Damião says Yes to the 
businessmen and delivers a resounding No to a basic right of the 
population that has long fought and yearned for the ability to move 
around the city without it being a privilege reserved only for those who 
can pay.

Zero Fare Now!
For a life without turnstiles!
Organização Socialista Libertária
October 2025

https://socialismolibertario.net/2025/10/02/tarifa-zero-onibus-bh/
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