Bus companies investigated for connection with PCC fail to comply with travel contracts in São Paulo

Data from SPTrans show that, among 524 lines operated by the companies investigated, only 24% reached the minimum number of trips required by the City Hall; passengers report long waits.

By Philipe Guedes, TV Globo

Bus companies investigated in São Paulo on suspicion of links with the PCC fail to comply with the travel contract. The problem affects 3 out of every 4 lines.

This Tuesday (22), line 5018-10, operated by A2 Transportes, made only 1 of 3 departures. The police point to the company as a means of money laundering.

Only 24% of the 524 lines under the responsibility of the companies investigated meet the contractual target. Among roads not investigated, the compliance rate is 36%.

At TransUnião, 51 of 52 lines failed to meet the target. The City Hall's intervention in Transwolff, also investigated, did not improve service in the extreme south.

Bus transport in São Paulo — Photo: Jornal Nacional/ Reproduction

The bus companies investigated by the Civil Police on suspicion of involvement with the First Command of the Capital (PCC) are also the target of complaints from passengers. Data from SPTrans show that three out of every four lines operated by these companies do not meet the minimum number of trips stipulated in the contract with the City of São Paulo.

In practice, the worker looks at the timetable, waits at the stop and the bus does not come when it should. "No one deserves to wait for the bus in the rain. It's even worse if it doesn't show up", says nursing technician Elisa Joana.

This Tuesday (22), of the three departures on line 5018-10, scheduled between 5pm and 5:30pm, only one was carried out. "Due to delays, due to buses breaking down and not many buses on the line. Now one has left. God knows when the other will arrive", reported Elisa.

Line 5018-10 connects Shopping Interlagos to Jabaquara and stopped making almost half of its trips this year, according to the latest survey, in May.

The operation is carried out by A2 Transportes, the company responsible for the ten lines that made the least trips in the capital, according to City Hall.

"Sometimes you wait 40 minutes. Then one comes after the other. You have no control", says retiree Carlos Alberto.

For the Civil Police, A2 Transportes is used by the PCC for money laundering. Last week, the company's president, Paulo Sirqueira, known as Paulo Camarão, and Júlio Salvador Filho, named as one of the directors, were temporarily arrested.

In addition to A2 Transportes, 10 other bus companies operating in the capital are being investigated for the same reason. And SPTrans data shows that most of these companies have another thing in common: they provide a poor quality service to passengers.

Of the 524 lines under the responsibility of the companies investigated, only 24% meet the minimum travel requirements required by contract. Among companies that are not investigated, the compliance rate reaches 36%.

Garage of the A2 Transportes car, in the South Zone of São Paulo — Photo: Reproduction/TV Globo

By contract, bus companies must make at least 97% of scheduled trips. But passengers on TransUnião, which operates in the East Zone, don't know what this is. Of the company's 52 lines, 51 did not meet the target. The worst is line 2704-10, which connects Jardim Robru to Metrô Itaquera.

In 2024, the City Hall intervened and took over the management of Transwolff, which had already been investigated since that time for involvement with the PCC. But not even this change improved the service in the extreme south of the city.

On average, only three out of ten of the company's lines served passengers as determined by the contract this year. The inefficient service is reflected in the number of fines applied by SPTrans.

“I think that, if they were more careful, SPTrans, I don't know how it works, could speed this up”, says receptionist Rosilene Oliveira.

"During peak hours it takes a long time and doesn't really stick to the schedule. Sometimes there are two or three lines of people here waiting for the bus", he adds.

TV Globo contacted A2 Transportes, which responded with a list of improvements it intends to implement. Among them are the change of command of the company and an increase of a thousand trips per day to reinforce passenger service.