São Paulo workers who need to use public transport this Tuesday (28) encounter difficulties in getting around on the stopped sections of the Metro and the Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM).
Those who chose municipal and intercity buses were faced with queues, long waits, overcrowding and confusion.
In the subway, lines 1 – Blue, 2 – Green, 3 – Red and 15 – Silver were affected. On trains, lines 7 – Ruby, 10 – Turquoise, 11 – Coral, 12 – Sapphire and 13 – Jade were affected by the strike.
Gas station attendant Josino Francisco dos Santos, who works for a transport company, reports to CNN who had to change the travel route.
“It changes the routine, delays everything. There is overcrowding and we get stressed. All this for political reasons, it doesn’t favor us. The bus line is already rounding the bend. It’s still early, but the queue will soon double or triple.”
Worker José Cícero says he was aware of the strike, but still decided to go to the station in the hope of finding some trains running.
“I notified the boss, took a photo and sent it to him. You can’t go to work today, it’s a wasted day. I have to go back home. To get back, I have to wait for the subway or take a car via app. And that will come out of my pocket, because the company only pays the transportation voucher.”
Confusion in queues
A CNN caught people being pushed to get on a bus, which was already full. There was a fight and shouting in the queue at the Parque Dom Pedro Terminal, in the center of the capital of São Paulo.
Workers who were in the confusion report that people were “jumping in line”. “People wait on the sidelines and start puncturing everyone, and the inspector lets them. It’s disrespectful to us who are here in line.”
At one point, people crowd the bus door, trying to squeeze into the vehicle, which is already at maximum capacity. The door can’t even close. Even so, people insist on going in, because they need to get to work.
At that moment, an SPTrans inspector helps, holding the door for people to enter. A worker who was there commented “people don’t even move in there”. Another shouts “come on, we have to work, everyone has to be on time”.
Reinforcement of the bus fleet
São Paulo City Hall added 200 buses to municipal lines and promises to run 100% of the fleet throughout today (28). Generally, the number of vehicles is reduced during off-peak hours.
Source: CNN Brasil
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