Panel SA: Traffic in the capital of São Paulo retreats with omicron, vacations and expensive gasoline

Even without limits to the movement of people to contain the advance of Covid and with the rotation suspended until the 16th, traffic in the capital of São Paulo retreated this January. The monthly average of slowness on working days in the first month of the year, which before the pandemic was 96 km in 2019 and 78 km in 2020, is only 24 km, according to partial data from CET (Companhia de Engenharia de Tráfego).

The trend is for it to stay below the 54 km of January 2021, when people from São Paulo were still waiting for the vaccine. The advance of the omni, school vacation trips and even the price of fuel are pointed out as possible causes.

Retail feels the drop in movement. “In general, January is not a very favorable month for trade. There is a slowdown due to higher interest rates, high unemployment, loss of purchasing power, and consumers are also afraid of being contaminated by Covid”, says Ulisses Ruiz de Gamboa, economist at ACSP (Commercial Association of São Paulo).

He predicts that the sales slowdown will continue into January and even intensify if the pandemic worsens.

“The increase in the prices of basic items reduces purchasing power. And I think that the fact that gasoline is more expensive also inhibits greater vehicular circulation. [o trânsito]. This is an indicator that economic activity is slowing down,” says Gamboa.

with Andressa Motter e Ana Paula Branco