On Wednesday (3), the São Paulo City Council presented the text of the draft law regulating the transportation of passengers by motorcycles in the capital. After an almost year-long struggle between the Ricardo Nunes administration (MDB) and the companies 99 and Uber, the Court of Justice (TJ-SP) and the Federal Supreme Court (STF) have legalized the service in the city, and the legislature will vote on the project that sets rules and restrictions for taxis and motorcycles.
99 and Uber have already announced that they will resume service next week, on December 11 – on the 10th, the 90-day deadline set by TJ-SP for the city council to regulate the situation expires. The Nunes administration appealed and tried to extend the deadline and prevent the resumption of service before the regulations, but the president of the court refused.
According to the text presented by the Subcommittee on Motorcycle Individual Passenger Transport, whose rapporteur is Councilor Paulo Frang (MDB), the circulation of motorcycle taxis is prohibited in the expanded center of São Paulo, which includes the richest neighborhoods with the largest job supply in the city, and on rapid transit routes, such as Pinheiros, Tietê fringe and Avenida 23 de Mayo, for example.
However, an O GLOBO report published in May showed that 78% of the highest risk areas for motorcycle accidents are in the suburbs (read more below).
The project also brings a series of requirements that motorcyclists must fulfill, such as the obligation to be at least 21 years old, to have a Class A driving license with at least two years of issue, with a note of paid activity, to have a specialized course for transporting passengers on motorcycles, and not to have committed a very serious traffic offense in the last 12 months. Motorcyclists will have to register with the city council before registering on platforms such as Uber and 99, according to the text.
Also according to the text, drivers will also have to submit a criminal record certificate to prove that they have never been convicted of murder, robbery, rape, corruption of minors and crimes against women, and will need to obtain a CNPJ, which can be a micro-entrepreneurial individual (MEI), as well as submit a toxicology test with a detection window of at least 90 days.
For vehicles that will be used to transport paid passengers, motorcycles must have the following:
- Vehicle Safety Certificate (CSV)
- Up to eight years of manufacturing
- Register in the “Rent” category.
- Engine with a minimum capacity of 150 cc and a maximum of 400 cc
- Rear and side metal handles to support passengers
- A protection device for the legs and engine, mounted on the vehicle chassis
The proposal also sets rules for apps that operate the service, such as a commitment that only pre-registered drivers can drive motorcycles, and the sharing of data required by City Hall for media monitoring, such as the origin and destination of trips, trip duration, waiting time for vehicles to reach passengers, details on the price paid and accident rates while motorcyclists and passengers travel using the platforms.
Another rule is that each motorcyclist can only register one motorbike in the app and the apps must create support and rest areas for them. Companies must also ensure personal accident insurance for passengers.
The proposal will be voted on in the plenary session on Thursday (4) in the first round, and is scheduled to be voted on in the second round next week. However, in the meantime, the text must be changed with amendments from Council members, especially from the Nunes rule, Globo reported. The text presented by Franj was drafted with the Executive Committee until the early hours of Tuesday (2) and was the subject of long discussions with the Committee on Wednesday morning.
The committee members’ assessment is that the city council was trying to implement a provision that would make motorcycle enforcement practically infeasible in São Paulo. After some discussion, the text was submitted, with some sections removed, such as those requiring a red plate for motorcycles, as is the case for city taxis.
Nunes said on Wednesday morning that it will not be possible for 99 and Uber to start transporting passengers by motorcycle on the 11th of this month, because the regulations will not be ready by then, especially regarding the requirement for drivers to pre-register. The mayor also spoke again about judicialization of this issue, even after the defeats suffered by the AKP and the Socialist Workers’ Party.
– This regulatory proposal states that it is necessary that some roads do not have the transportation of passengers on motorcycles, the issue of red flags, and a series of problems in case we do not succeed in the STF, which I do not believe. “I truly believe that the STF will reverse this situation and give the São Paulo City Council victory in the case and recognize that my decree banning this activity is legitimate and constitutional, as stipulated in federal legislation,” he said.
The most dangerous areas for motorcycles are in the suburbs
The analysis conducted by GLOBO, with public data from the Infosiga platform, from Detran-SP, shows on maps (see below) that a small part of São Paulo’s territory was responsible for 37% of motorcycle accidents that occurred across the city between 2022 and 2024. The peripheral neighbourhoods, where the city council’s proposal wants to allow motorcycles, concentrate the most vital areas, with 78% of the most dangerous stretches.
To determine the most important stretches for motorcyclists in São Paulo, the city area was divided into approximately 16,000 hexagons, each 500 meters wide. Among the hexagons that recorded accidents, we chose the 10% with the highest number of accidents. Together, these most dangerous stretches account for 19,411 motorcycle accidents – equivalent to 37% of the approximately 53,000 cases recorded in the period analysed.
The most dangerous area in the entire city is located in Estrada do M’Boi Mirim, in Jardim São Luís. One stretch of the road that passes through several neighborhoods in the southern region led to 231 accidents. In the centre, part of the area around Avenida Novi de Julho approached the record, with 206 motorcycle collisions.
Deaths follow the same pattern, with strength in neighborhoods outside the expanded center. There were more than 1,100 motorcyclist deaths between 2022 and 2024. Grajao alone recorded 43 deaths, and was the deadliest area in the city at that time. The southern region contains most of the neighborhoods with the highest death rates, accounting for 38% of deaths in the years analyzed.