The motorcycle taxi service in São Paulo faces no obstacles preventing its introduction as of the 11th, when the deadline set by the court for the Ricardo Nunes Administration (MDB) to regulate the activity expires, say the experts interviewed. BoundAlthough this is not a unanimous argument.
This issue is the subject of a struggle between the Imedipista government and the transportation applications, which have sought since 2023 to cancel a decree issued that year by the city of São Paulo suspending motorcycle taxi service.
The rule ended up being challenged in the judiciary and ended up being invalidated by the Court of Justice of São Paulo (TJ-SP) in September this year.
TJ agreed with the arguments of CNS (National Service Union), the author of the action, according to which the Nunes administration’s decree violates the principles of free enterprise and free competition.
The decision declaring the imedipista text unconstitutional gave the municipal administration 90 days to strengthen the regulation of the sector – a period that ends next Thursday (11).
Then, say experts consulted by the report, services can be provided.
“The city council will have 90 days to regulate the individual transportation service, taking into account its constitutional jurisdiction, which does not include suspension of activity,” says Anna Scaglione, a specialist in administrative law.
For her, “there is a clear interest among residents in the availability of alternative and accessible means of transportation, especially in times of crisis in public transportation.”
One of the Nunes administration’s bets includes a project the chamber plans to approve that would create rules for motorcycle taxi service and require activity to be conducted with prior approval by the City Council — a process that could last up to 60 days.
Scaglione says it is a questionable clause “if it creates any impossibility in carrying out the activity.”
“The ideal, according to the Constitution and the Law of Economic Freedom, is for city councils as a principle to liberalize illegal economic activities in general and create obstacles to only high-risk activities. This is not the case, given the judicial rulings on the subject,” says João Gabriel Lemos Ferreira, professor of constitutional law from ITE (Instituto Toledo de Encino).
“There is nothing that can be done,” says lawyer Vera Chimem, who holds a master’s degree in public administration from the FGV (Fundação Getulio Vargas).
“If Transitional Justice had given a deadline of the eleventh day, the municipality should have rushed to approve this law,” Vera says. “So I think that, regardless of whether there is a municipal law, this service can be resumed based on a decision of the Supreme Court.”
It refers to a court ruling that invalidated a rule passed by Alesp (Legislative Assembly of São Paulo) that required the use of motorcycle taxis in the state with the approval of municipal laws permitting it.
For the STF, the state does not have the power to legislate on this matter, and what is more, the requirement stipulated in the legal text created barriers to the exercise of professional activity.
Shemim says the accreditation is “practically necessary and indispensable, even for security reasons,” but it is up to the administration to expedite its implementation. Until then, he says, federal regulations allowing the activity will prevail.
However, there are differences, and “a deadline is needed to regulate an activity that is very risky and has harmful consequences,” says lawyer Carlos Figueiredo Mourao, Master in Constitutional Law from PUC-SP (Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo).
He adds: “It is worth noting the health problem caused by motorcycle accidents in the city of São Paulo, which affects the municipality and affects the community, and the freedom to open new commercial activities must be analysed.”
Mayor Ricardo Nunes takes a similar line, rejecting any possibility of motorcycle taxi services resuming on the 11th “either by court decision or under the regulations that will be in place.” As for the president, the application companies are taking an irresponsible position when announcing the service next Thursday.
“Let us exercise a minimum of care and caution in preserving people’s lives.”
Nunes also cites a study by Ipea (Institute for Applied Economic Research) that “the recent trend of increasing mortality among motorcycle users is particularly alarming and requires urgent attention from the authorities and society.”
It’s an illogical argument from the point of view of University of the South Pacific professor Floriano de Azevedo Márquez Neto, a lawyer at Amobitec (the Brazilian Mobility and Technology Association), which brings together application service providers.
“(Motorbike taxi service) is no more risky than individual motorcycle transportation or iFood delivery businesses, for example,” he says.
Marques Neto, who is also Minister of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, says the platforms themselves have mechanisms to ensure drivers avoid abuse – such as ratings, panic buttons and more.
“Otherwise, his registration will be cancelled,” says the lawyer, who “whoever begins service on December 11 is not committing any violation of the law.”