Panel SA: Justice releases operation of chartered bus companies in open circuit by apps

The arm wrestling around regulation in the chartered bus market took new steps in Justice.

Bus charter companies filed a lawsuit against ANTT (National Land Transport Agency), asking for the operation in the so-called open circuit, and judge Ricardo de Castro Nascimento, of the 17th Federal Civil Court of São Paulo, granted an injunction that guarantees the operation.

The decision prevents the application of Ordinance 27, a rule that equates the activity of collaborative charter to clandestine travel in interstate trips due to non-compliance with the closed circuit, which links round trips.

With this, the road travel companies Style Bus, from Santos, and Bueno Turismo, from Goiânia, are allowed to operate at the federal level for loose stretches.

“Entrepreneurs in this field of transport and tourism are being persecuted by the regulatory agency because of an anachronistic rule, from 1998, which prevents charterers from being able to use their buses in the best way. The closed circuit rule needs to be reviewed as soon as possible to bring legal security to our category”, says the president of Abrafrec (Brazilian Association of Collaborative Charterers), Marcelo Nunes.

In a note, ANTT states that it has already complied with the court’s request and will appeal the decision.

Joana Cunha with Paul Ricardo Martins and Gilmara Santos