The Sao Paulo Metro

Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, has a storied history. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in 2016 the city’s estimated population was 12 million, nearly twice that of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest, and quadruple that of Brasilia, the capital. Its extensive mass transit network, made up of private and public entities, altogether boasts nearly 200 stations, serviced by 13 lines across 370 kilometers (230 miles) of track (Schwandl).

Sixty years ago, the city’s population of about 4 million depended on a network of city buses to commute between the city and its suburbs, according to Michael Minihan and Wisner Gomes, who wrote about the recent expansions in Business Excellence Magazine (5).

But all of this changed in April 1968 with the founding of the Companhia do Metropolitano de Sao Paulo, otherwise known as the Sao Paulo Metro. This was followed by tests, construction, and finally in 1974 the city’s first metro line, north-to-south Line 1 (Blue) opened between Jabaquara and Vila Mariana. Though the city was still growing, it took time for the city to invest more into the network. The second line, now known as the Red, didn’t open until nearly the end of the decade. After that, the third line (Green) didn’t begin operation until the early 1990s. 

This was when the city began to undergo a change in its priorities. In 1992, numerous rail lines were consolidated into the publicly-owned Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM), which cooperates with the existing Metro agency. In the three decades since,  over a dozen new lines have been introduced or expanded  by the Metro, CPTM, or the private entities ViaQuatro and ViaMobilidade. 

In an article written by Ricardo Meier discussing the then-current news of the network, on average more than 5.3 million people commuted daily across the six lines run by Sao Paulo Metro alone in late 2019. But despite that, poor transport access, overcrowding, outdated signaling and construction delays disproportionately hinder low-income and long-distance commuters. According to the World Bank, 2009 saw average commute times for one-quarter of low-income riders exceeding over an hour one-way.

Line 6 (Orange) “was originally due for completion in 2012” (Simoes and Benassatto) after being announced in 2008. Instead, financial difficulties pushed the start of construction to 2012, and it’s not expected to be operational until 2025. In February 2022, tunnel excavations for the line caused a surface expressway to collapse. There were no fatalities, but the collapse signaled another misstep that “became a symbol for dysfunctional public construction” in the city (Simoes and Benassatto).

In spite of the system’s broad reach, it still leaves much to be desired, particularly for the poorer residents in the region. According to Boisjoly et al., the presence of low-income earners correlates with poor transit access. “35% of the lowest-income households experience the lowest level of accessibility, whereas only 11% of them experience the highest level of accessibility" (Boisjoly et al. 16). On the other hand, “9% of high-income households (three times the minimum wage) experience low accessibility” while 56% experience the highest level. This lack of mobility causes low-income earners to “opt for proximity as a [housing] strategy, which limits the number of opportunities (jobs, health, education, etc.) they can reach and afford" (4).  

There are signs that local officials are taking the issues seriously. Three new stations were added to the privately-run, fully-autonomous Line 4 (Yellow) between 2016 and 2018 (Minihan and Gomes 11); a multi-million dollar loan from the World Bank modernized the previously under-performing Line 5 by automating communication between trains (to allow them to run closer together), lowering noise levels, and improving access for disabled people. Silvani Pereira, the CEO of Sao Paulo Metro, announced Line 16 (Violet), expected to transport 630,000 passengers a day when it opens in 2034 (Passos). 

But none of the technological innovations and line expansions in the system mean anything if the Metro feels unsafe to travel on. Researchers Gustavo Moreira and Vania Ceccato, writing about differences in how men and women experience the Metro, mention that at the turn of the century, Sao Paulo was one of the most violent regions in the world, with 57 murders per 100,000 inhabitants (Moreira and Ceccato 20). While that number has dropped to just six, the prevalence of sexual harassment and violence persits, especially on public transport.

For the past decade and a half, there has been an ongoing debate about how to help people feel more safe on the trains. In an article about one specific idea that might make trains safer, Marion Tillous writes about how in 2013, Jorge Caruso, a member of the state-level Sao Paulo Legislative Assembly, submitted a bill that would “impose the introduction of at least one car exclusively for the use of women on each metro or train in the State of Sao Paulo” (Tillous). Similar legislation had been enacted in Brasilia earlier that year, and in Rio in 2006. Despite passing the state legislature, Governor Geraldo Alckmin, on the advice of feminist organizations, vetoed the bill, saying that “the path of segregation does not seem to be the right one” (Tillous). 

More than 40% of the violent encounters [in the Sao Paulo metro] occurr[ed] within 2 km of the central station; this concentration remains even after controlling for passenger flow (Moreira and Ceccato 216)

Service on the metro runs between 4:30 in the morning and midnight, and according to Moreira and Ceccato, women make up 53% of riders. The researchers found that “more than 40% of the violent encounters [in the Sao Paulo metro] occurr[ed] within 2 km of the central station; this concentration remains even after controlling for passenger flow” (216). While women were more likely to be robbed, harassed, or even assaulted at almost all hours of the day, near the city center, men were discovered to be the majority of victims at late night hours, usually at more distant stations where lines terminate. By introducing security measures such as guards and CCTV, Moreira and Ceccato continue, crime was noted to have decreased. Still, law enforcement agencies are hampered by the fact that some crimes continue to go underreported despite a 2015 awareness campaign. The researchers also note that the focus on crime prevention usually centers on heterosexual, cis-gendered victims, excluding the perspectives of those who don't identify with one or either of those labels. “A more holistic comprehensive approach to transit safety is needed, one that addresses differences in victimization not only by gender and gender status (LGBTQI), but also by age, ethnicity, cultural stigmatization, and physical condition" (219).

The four different agencies–Via Mobilidade, Via Quatro, CPTM, and of course Sao Paulo Metro–that together make up the regional network create a truly fascinating system. Given its relative youth, the network’s extent is impressive, its ridership is amazing, and its technological innovations inspire local and global peers alike. But unfortunately it still fails to provide fair transit access for all of the people living in the region, and its crime prevention record needs work. The metro can only reach its full potential when it provides consistent, equitable service that is so universal that it ceases to be a luxury.