The Rio de Janeiro court upheld the city government's decision to eliminate cash payments on municipal buses starting next Saturday (30). The measure is part of the full implementation of Jaé, the municipality's digital ticketing system.
The decision was made this Tuesday (26) by the 2nd Public Treasury Court, which denied the preliminary injunction request presented by Procon-RJ to suspend the change. As a result, fares will now be paid exclusively by digital means on municipal buses.
In her ruling, Judge Georgia Vasconcellos stated that replacing cash does not compromise the quality of service provided to the public and highlighted that the measure could increase security in transportation.
“The intended change in the method of paying for fares in no way affects the quality of the transportation service provided,” the judge wrote. According to her, removing cash from circulation on buses also helps reduce the risk of property crimes.
The judge also mentioned that other modes of transportation in the city, such as the BRT and the VLT, already operate without cash payments.
The Rio de Janeiro City Hall argues that the new model will bring more operational control, transparency, and security for passengers and workers in the system. According to the municipality, the digitalization of fare collection should also help in the fight against robberies on public transport.
"The decision reinforces the City Hall's choice to replace cash with digital means to bring more security, transparency, control and efficiency to the service," says Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere (PSD).
On Monday (25), Cavaliere and the municipal secretary of Transport, Jorge Arraes, presented the details of the new system in a press conference held at the Operations and Resilience Center (COR) of the city hall, in the Center.
With the change, passengers on municipal buses will need to use cards, apps, or other electronic means integrated into the Jaé system to board the buses.
The end of onboard cash is being tested in the city.
It's worth remembering that the measure is already being tested on line 634, which connects Ilha do Governador to Tijuca. This Tuesday, the bus also started accepting payment via Pix. The municipal administration expects to expand the system to the entire fleet by the end of June.
In addition to Pix, the city government also plans to enable contactless payments with debit and credit cards. In this case, testing should begin on June 15th, with gradual expansion to the entire bus network throughout the month.
Also starting today, it will be possible to purchase and recharge Jaé cards at approximately 700 kiosks accredited by the city hall throughout the city. The minimum recharge amount will be R$ 10. Unlike buses, payment can be made with cash.
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