Residents of the West Zone receive 100 new modern buses.

New vehicles begin operating on eight lines, with reduced intervals and increased service in populous areas of the West Zone - Photo: Fabio Motta/Rio City Hall

The mayor of Rio, Eduardo Cavaliere, and the municipal secretary of Transportation, Jorge Arraes, presented, this Sunday (May 24th), 100 new, more modern and comfortable buses with the new visual identity of the RIO System, which will reinforce operations in the West Zone. With this delivery, the city now has more than 300 new vehicles in circulation. Following the transformation promoted in the BRT, the improvements are now extending to the conventional bus system, raising the quality standard of public transport in the city and increasing passenger comfort.

"There are one hundred new buses on the streets circulating from today here in the Greater Bangu region. These are lines that carry almost 80.000 people, serving neighborhoods with 1 million inhabitants. And this was the commitment we made to the population, to bring about the same transformation with the bus lines that we did with the BRT, and we will not stop," said Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere.

Eight bus lines will begin operating with a 100% brand-new fleet and the new visual identity. These lines will also have reduced intervals, providing greater regularity and comfort for passengers.

In April of this year, 112 new buses — more modern, comfortable, and equipped with air conditioning — were added to the municipal fleet, primarily serving the regions of Barra da Tijuca, Ilha do Governador, Bangu, Jacarepaguá, Paciência, and Realengo.

By December 2025, another 100 vehicles had been added to the operation in 20 neighborhoods in the West Zone. Nine lines serving areas such as Sepetiba, Santa Cruz, Paciência, Cosmos, Inhoaíba, and Campo Grande began operating with a 100% brand-new fleet, within the system's new visual standard.

Routes that will receive a new fleet.

Purple color:

• Line 759 — Cesarão × Coelho Neto Metro Station
• SP759 Line — Cesarão × Deodoro Terminal
• Line 753 — Santa Cruz × Coelho Neto Metro Station

Brown color:

• Line 383 — Realengo × Praça da República
• Line SV391 — Padre Miguel × Praça da República
• Line 764 — Catiri × Deodoro Terminal
• Line 746 — Jabour × Cascadura
• Line 790 — Campo Grande × Cascadura

Progress with judicial agreements

The recent improvements to the municipal bus system were only possible thanks to judicial agreements signed between the City Hall, the Public Prosecutor's Office of the State of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ), and the SPPO operating consortia, which allowed for the reorganization and modernization of transportation operations in the city.

Signed in May 2022 between the City Hall, the Public Prosecutor's Office of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ), and the consortia operating the SPPO (São Paulo Public Transportation System), the first judicial agreement allowed for a significant restructuring of the city's bus system. Among the main measures implemented are subsidies per kilometer traveled, the use of technology for monitoring, and the application of penalties in cases of contractual non-compliance.

As a result, starting in June 2022, the fleet was reinforced with a thousand new buses, 200 lines were created or reactivated — including 65 night routes — and service was resumed at more than 800 stops, focusing on the most deprived regions.

A new judicial agreement was signed on April 30, 2025, again between the City Hall, the State Public Prosecutor's Office, and the four consortiums responsible for operating bus lines in Rio. This enabled the new bidding process for the municipal transportation system, previously scheduled for 2028, to be brought forward. Operational quality is now assessed quarterly using the Transportation Quality Index (TQI), which considers criteria such as: number of violations, quality of service, passenger satisfaction, average fleet age, availability of air conditioning, regular trips, and penalty-free operation. Companies with a TQI below 0,8 may lose their exclusive rights to the lines they operate.

The Rio system moves forward with a new bidding phase and expansion of the fleet in the city.

In parallel with this renovation, the RIO System, the city's new bus transportation system, continues to advance. In April, the Rio de Janeiro City Hall launched the public consultation notice for the second phase of the new bidding process, covering operations in Bangu, Santa Cruz, Vila Isabel, and Ilha do Governador. The consultation was open for 30 days on the website of the Municipal Transportation Secretariat, allowing the public to submit suggestions.

The second phase is scheduled to begin in December of this year and includes more than a thousand new buses — a 63% increase in the fleet for these regions. The expansion will be distributed as follows: Santa Cruz: from 109 to 187 vehicles; Bangu: from 259 to 380; Vila Isabel and Ilha do Governador: from 204 to 287; and Ilha do Governador: from 58 to 173 vehicles.

Implemented gradually, the RIO System began its first phase in the West Zone, with contracts signed in March for Campo Grande and Santa Cruz. In these regions, the fleet will increase from 104 to 316 buses, with 169 vehicles entering operation in August and another 147 in September.

The new model expands the control and oversight of public authorities, with remuneration per kilometer driven, performance evaluation (IDT), and contracts of up to 10 years. The fleet will be 100% new, accessible, and equipped with technologies that guarantee greater comfort and safety for passengers, as well as greater monitoring and management capacity on the part of the City Hall.