The Rio de Janeiro City Hall continues the renewal of the city's bus fleet and publishes the tender for the second phase of the RIO System.

New phase includes more than 1.400 new buses, a 57% increase in the fleet, and expansion of bus routes in the West and North zones - Iago Campos/Rio City Hall

The Rio de Janeiro City Hall published, this Friday (July 10th), the notice for the second phase of implementation of the RIO System, a new operating model for municipal bus transportation. The new phase foresees private investments of R$ 1,4 billion to incorporate more than 1.400 new buses into the city's fleet, increase the number of vehicles in circulation in the covered regions by 57%, and increase the number of bus lines in Guaratiba, Santa Cruz, Campo Grande, Bangu, Vila Isabel, and Ilha do Governador.

— The RIO System represents fleet renewal, improved service quality, greater control over transportation, and a mode of transport with complete real-time information. It represents a level of service that is the main commitment we have made: the level of service of the BRT. We committed to making the same transformation with the bus lines that we made with the BRT. And the process that is being conducted really resembles what happened with the BRT —, stated Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere, in a press conference held at the Operations and Resilience Center (COR).

The second phase includes five new lots and represents another step in the gradual implementation of the RIO System, which will continue until 2028. The new model expands the City Hall's capacity for planning, monitoring, and controlling public transportation, with more technology, transparency, and quality for passengers. The tender was developed based on more than 905 contributions received during a public consultation held between April and May of this year.

In this phase, the new concessionaires will be responsible for acquiring and operating the fleet, maintaining the vehicles, implementing and managing public garages, and installing intelligent transportation systems (ITS), which will allow for real-time monitoring of operations and greater efficiency in service delivery. The new buses are expected to begin operating in the first quarter of 2027.

— The previous model had ticketing under the control of the operators. The consequence of this was little or no data transparency, difficulty in oversight, private garages, an aging fleet, and few mechanisms for the municipality to demand quality service. Now, the format is no longer through consortia but through companies, without exclusivity in service provision. The garages will become public, and with ITS, a set of technologies embedded in the new buses, it will be possible to facilitate the monitoring, oversight, and tracking of operations — explained the Municipal Secretary of Transportation, Jorge Arraes.

The first phase is already underway.

The RIO System is being implemented gradually. The first phase began in the West Zone, with concession contracts signed in March of this year for operation in Campo Grande and Santa Cruz. In these regions, the fleet will increase from 104 to 376 buses. The first 169 vehicles will begin operating in August, and another 147 will enter circulation by December, according to the implementation schedule.

New fleet and infrastructure for a new operating model.

The new bidding model represents an advance in the management of municipal public transport by expanding the control and oversight mechanisms by the public authorities. Among the main innovations are remuneration per kilometer traveled, evaluation of the quality of operation through the Transport Quality Index (IQT), and permanent fleet monitoring by intelligent transport systems (ITS).

The new fleet will be 100% brand new and accessible, with low floors in the basic vehicles, access ramps, air conditioning, temperature sensors, USB and USB-C chargers, GPS integrated into the Operational Control Center, emergency button for the driver, electronic passenger information panels, and internal security cameras.
The vehicles will comply with the Euro VI environmental standard, capable of reducing pollutant emissions by up to 80%, in addition to allowing the use of clean energy technologies such as natural gas, biomethane, and electric buses.
Each contract will include a public parking garage. In total, there will be four units: Ilha do Governador, for lot H2; Maré, serving lots H1-I3; Senador Vasconcelos, for lots C1-C2; and Cosmos, shared between lots A1-B6 and B1-B8. The infrastructure will increase competition, reduce barriers for new operators, and strengthen operational control.

Fleet renewal has already begun.

The implementation of the RIO System is already producing concrete results. Even before the new concession began operating, the City Hall has already added more than 350 brand-new buses to the municipal fleet, all equipped with air conditioning and the new system's visual identity. The initiative expands the availability of transportation, improves the regularity of operations, and offers greater comfort, safety, and reliability to passengers.

The process began in December 2025, when the first 100 buses entered circulation in 20 neighborhoods in the West Zone. In April of this year, another 112 vehicles began operating in neighborhoods such as Barra da Tijuca, Ilha do Governador, Jacarepaguá, Paciência, Bangu, and Realengo. On May 24th, another 100 buses reinforced the operation of lines in the West Zone. Then, on June 7th, another 40 vehicles began circulating in Vila Isabel and surrounding neighborhoods, allowing the gradual resumption of important lines and consolidating the expansion of fleet renewal to different regions of the city.

The complete tender notice and its annexes are available on the website of the Municipal Secretariat of Transportation and on the National Public Procurement Portal (PNCP). The public bidding session is scheduled for August 28th, at 11:00 AM, at the headquarters of the Municipal Attorney General's Office (PGM), in downtown Rio.

Fleet distribution by batch for the second phase.

Santa Cruz and Guaratiba: From 17 lines and 207 buses to 19 lines and 311 buses.

Campo Grande and Guaratiba: From 21 lines and 174 buses to 23 lines and 291 buses.

Bangu: From 28 lines and 273 buses to 29 lines and 404 buses.

Ilha do Governador and Vila Isabel: From 17 lines and 160 buses to 19 lines and 241 buses.

Governor's Island: From 19 lines and 93 buses to 17 lines and 173 buses.