The Court of Justice of Minas Gerais (TJMG) decided to suspend, in the early hours of this Friday (29), a previously given injunction and maintained the increase in bus fares in Belo Horizonte. With the decision, the price of bus tickets will be R$5.25 from today onwards.
Judge José Arthur de Carvalho Pereira Filho, president of the TJMG, revoked the first instance determination, arguing that the control of administrative acts by the Judiciary should be limited “to the judgment of legality and abusiveness, with examination that goes beyond such parameters being prohibited, under penalty for violating the principle of separation of powers”.
The decision was taken after the city hall of the capital of Minas Gerais appealed the injunction that suspended the adjustment.
Previously, the ticket cost R$4.50, and the adjustment represents an increase of 16%. The injunction to maintain the price at R$4.50 had been filed by parliamentarians from the Workers' Party (PT) of Minas Gerais.
In the request for suspension, the city hall argued that the adjustment is “necessary to maintain the recovery of investments and the consequent gradual improvement of services, in view of the budgetary limitations imposed for the 2024 financial year”.
The municipal administration also stated that the fare had not been adjusted since 2018, and the 16% increase appears to be reasonable.
“It is important to highlight that during the tariff freeze period, the minimum wage varied by 48%, going from R$954 in 2018 to R$1,412 in 2024. Accumulated inflation in the period is 28.43%, according to the IPCA. Combined with this scenario, the main inputs for the operation of public transport have undergone continuous and significant readjustments”, says the city hall.
According to the city hall, the free service for specific audiences — women's transportation allowance, full pass for public school students, health transportation voucher and free pass on lines that run in towns and favelas — will be maintained for an indefinite period of time.
The readjustment of fares for the public transport system in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte, which serves the 34 municipalities in the area, is also scheduled to come into force this Friday (29). Tickets, which cost R$7.20, are now R$7.70.
Source: CNN Brasil
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