Senate approves bill that forces government to pay elderly people on buses free of charge

The Senate approved this Wednesday (16) a bill that obliges the federal government to transfer to states and municipalities the resources to pay for free public transport for the elderly. The proposal was pointed out as a condition by city halls to avoid the so-called “tariff”, the readjustment of bus tickets.

The bill was passed symbolically by the senators. It now goes to vote in the Chamber of Deputies and, if it receives approval from the deputies, it will be sanctioned by President Jair Bolsonaro.

The measure faces great resistance from the team of Minister Paulo Guedes (Economy). The Ministry of Economy points to an impact of R$ 5 billion per year on federal public finances.

The bill approved by the senators, authored by Nelsinho Trad (PSD-MS) and Giordano (MDB-SP), creates the National Program for Assistance to the Mobility of the Elderly in Urban Areas. In practice, the proposal only determines that it will be up to the Federal Executive to transfer the necessary resources to states, the Federal District and municipalities to guarantee free public transport for the elderly.

“The National Program for Assistance to the Mobility of the Elderly in Urban Areas aims to simultaneously fund the constitutional right of the elderly to urban mobility, maintain affordable tariffs and guarantee the economic-financial balance of public transport concession contracts” , says the text of the project.

The report by Senator Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM) predicts that the program will be in force for a period of three years, 2022 and the two following. States, Federal District and municipalities must create their own funds to receive federal resources. These entities will have a period of six months to create the funds.

The division of resources between municipalities and states will be based on a population estimate by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).

Braga confirmed the estimate of R$ 5 billion with subsidies and pointed to oil royalties as a source of funds.

“About the budgetary-financial impact, expenditures of around R$ 5 billion per year are estimated. that each elderly person, on average, makes five round trips per month, we would have a total of 120 trips per year. Multiplying this value by R$ 4.50 as the average price of the fare, we arrive at R$ 4.968 billion” , said Braga, while reading his report.

“Given the magnitude of the resources involved, we propose to link part of the revenue from oil royalties to finance such expenditures. It should be noted that the revenue from oil royalties belonging to the Union is more than enough to finance these new expenses. In 2021, for For example, only the portion of royalties appropriated by the Union exceeded R$ 11 billion, more than double what was projected”, added the parliamentarian.

Braga also added that the use of these resources will impact transfers to health and education, arising from royalties.

The defense of the transfer from the Union to cover the gratuities became a flag of the mayors, who made several trips to Brasília to discuss the issue. Before the session in which the measure was approved, a mission of municipal executive heads had a meeting with the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG).

The mayor of São Paulo, Ricardo Nunes (MDB), said after the meeting that there was an agreement to vote on the project and that he would avoid the readjustment of bus fares this year – he did not commit to subsequent years.

Nunes said that the bus fare, currently at R$4.40, could rise to R$5.50, if the measure is not approved by the senators. In the case of the city of São Paulo, he argues that R$ 450 million are needed to pay for the gratuities, with federal transfers going to reach R$ 360 million and the rest will be the responsibility of the municipality.

“The city government will cover the difference in value. Why? Because inflation was very high, last year diesel increased by 65%. So, even with this contribution from the federal government, the city halls will still need to add a little to avoid tariff increase”, said the mayor.

The São Paulo mayor also says that studies show that an increase in bus fares could impact the growth of 1% to 2% in inflation.

“We are willing to make more sacrifices to maintain the fare. If you increase the bus fare today, this increases inflation by 1% to 2% and has repercussions throughout the country in the economic recovery. the resumption. Because the number of homeless people in the municipalities increases, the increase in poverty, in vulnerability”, he added.

Despite approval in the Senate, there is the prospect that the measure will face resistance as it moves through the Chamber of Deputies. In addition, the economic team is still opposed to bearing these expenses.

Nunes said that there is articulation with Minister Flávia Arruda (Government Secretariat), but on the other hand he criticized the Ministry of Economy, which, according to him, “is adept at saying no”.

“We took this demand to the president. There is obviously a need for the federal government to understand that it is responsible for the financial impact of increasing diesel by 65%, that if you increase bus fares, it will increase from 1% to 2% inflation, we are experiencing an economic recovery, an increase in unemployment, poverty and each one has to give a little bit of their contribution, city hall, state government and federal government”, he said.

“Evidently, the Ministry of Economy is adept at saying no. But we are not worried about that”, he added.

Rapporteur Eduardo Braga said during the session that there is a possibility of a presidential veto, following the recommendations of Minister Paulo Guedes. Braga, however, said that the text was constructed in such a way as to leave no gaps to be questioned in an eventual veto and that there is already an articulation to overturn any presidential action in this regard.