Reforming the urban transport sector in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region - a case study in concessions

The author describes a bold effort by the state government to increase private sector participation in Rio de Janeiro's urban transport sector, reduce heavy operating subsidies, and establish a foundation for making the sector sustainable. This effort was undertaken with the help of three World Bank-financed loans: * The Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Transport Loan, which provided assistance for the transfer of federally owned suburban railways to the state government. * The Rio de Janeiro State Reform and Privatization Loan, which helped the state privatize and grant concessions for a number of its enterprises. * The Rio de Janeiro Mass Transit Loan, which supported the reorganization of the sector and the concession of the Rio suburban railways (Flumitrens). Most of the reforms in the urban transport sector have been implemented. The lessons learned from implementation and the results obtained so far suggest that political decisiveness, transparency, and ingenuity in developing incentives are crucial to privatizing urban rail transport systems. But the state also learned that not having a credible staff redundancy program might seriously reduce the benefits expected from concessions.Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Financial Management,Economic Adjustment and Lending,Roads&Highways,Decentralization,National Governance,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Financial Management,Urban Transport,Roads&Highways

Policies for capacity development

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Latin American busways: Moving people not cars

The rapid growth of Latin America urban centres beginning in the 1970s placed a heavy strain upon urban transport service providers. Facing high population growth from a citizenry dependent upon public transport and having limited financial resources to develop car-based infrastructure, Latin American municipal planners were challenged to create a new transport paradigm. One ingenious response to this dilemma was the busway, a surface metro system that utilizes exclusive right-of-way bus lanes. The developers of the Latin American busways astutely observed that the ultimate objective was to swiftly, efficiently, and cost-effectively move people rather than cars. Examples of innovative busway systems are presented from Curitiba, Bogota, Porto Alegre, Quito, and Sao Paulo. The low cost, flexibility, and speed of the exclusive busways all contribute to extremely high levels of customer satisfaction. Innovative approaches to the design of busway loading stations and simplified ticketing have also helped to reduce operating costs and improve customer flows. Additionally, clear system maps, colour-coded routing, system safety and cleanliness, and superior customer service have helped direct consumer preference towards the busway. The success of busways has also proved that costly subway systems or uncontrolled sprawl are not the only options available to municipal planners. The Latin American busway corridors provide high peak capacities that permit busway corridors to serve the transit requirements of most medium to large-sized cities. When integrated with progressive land-use policies, busways can also form the basis of more sustainable urban design by encouraging development corridors with high-density, mixed-use land use. The environmental benefits and calming influences afforded cities by busway systems have translated into dramatically improved levels of quality of life indicators, including improvements in health, crime reduction, and poverty alleviation. The user-friendliness and cost-effectiveness of busway systems have convinced municipal leaders in North America, Europe, and Australia to develop similar systems of their own. Latin American busways thus provide a unique example of South to North technology transfer

Lessons from Sao Paulo's Metropolitan Busway Concessions Program

In an earlier paper (Policy Research Working Paper 1546), the authors described a pioneer initiative of Sao Paulo's municipal and state governments, to give the private sector a concession on building and operating a number of"trunk"busways. At the time, the Sao Paulo Municipal Government had already awarded a number of busway corridors to private consortia, although the consortia had yet to get the financing needed to implement the investment plan. On the other hand, the state had not yet awarded its first corridor and was still adjusting the bidding documents based on comments received from interested parties. In this paper, the authors describe what happened since then and draw lessons for the future. After a long, successful bidding process, this imaginative and pioneering program launched by the municipality failed to materialize because of problems in getting financing. Possibly the market felt that the risks involved in building and operating system outweighed the benefits and that the Sao Paulo and Brazilian market was not yet prepared to accept such a challenge without better partial risk guarantees. The state learned from the mistakes of the municipality and was successful in the concession of the Sao Mateus-Jabaquara corridor. Among the lessons learned from this project: 1) Private bus operators in Brazil are generally traditional entrepreneurs. They must be taught how to prepare financing plans or at least to get the best advice about putting together a project's financial engineering design. In this case, all consortia turned to BNDES (Brazilian National Social Development Bank) for financing, probably because their loan interests rates were lower than those of commercial banks but also because the concession was with the government. They did not consider other options such as the International Finance Corporation or other private-sector-related development institutions. 2) The Sao Paulo municipality should also have undertaken detailed economic evaluation of the projects, from the standpoint of the region as a whole, including the impact on other modes of transportation and on systems integration. Such analysis is required by all bilateral and multilateral development institutions, including BNDES. 3) When private operators are paid for vehicle-kilometer supplied and when the state collects all revenues and then pays the operators, concession contracts or operating revenues cannot be easily used as guarantees. Before defining tariff mechanism, governments should think through the impacts they might have on financing, since the revenues collected are often the best guarantee that can be offered.Banks&Banking Reform,Roads&Highways,Urban Transport,Public Sector Economics&Finance,National Governance

Brazil in Search of Transparency E-Gov

ABSTRACT/nThis article discusses the public administration strategy in the creation of electronic government (e-gov) Brazilian and interactivity of its population with this important way Shows trends and the consequences of its implementation, and the importance of its tools in disclosure and guidance to the population that public services and the relevance of the free software use as a government strategy. It also brings a reflection on the importance of transparency of government actions and commitment of resources of public administration. Also has the experience of São Paulo, in the urban transport sector in tires and the tools available to the user population. And it shows the valuable innovation to create Mobility Lab (MobLab), making the collaboration of the scientific community in city management./n

Bridging the Gap Between Energy and Climate Policies in Brazil: Policy Options to Reduce Energy-Related GHG Emissions

Brazil is facing a series of important policy decisions that will determine its energy future over the next several decades, with important implications for the country's economic competitiveness, the well-being of its citizens, and the global climate. The decisions concern the direction of approximately 0.5 trillion U.S. dollars of anticipated investment in energy infrastructure over the next decade -- which can either lock in carbon-intensive infrastructure, or advance Brazil's position as a leader in the low-carbon economy. This report examines Brazil's key energy-related GHG emitting sectors through a climate lens in order to offer recommendations for a more integrated approach that can more effectively reconcile energy and climate needs. It begins with an overview of Brazil's past energy and GHG emissions profiles, current pledges and future trends, and a discussion of the implications for a possible allocation of the remaining global carbon budget. Next, it reviews available scenarios for Brazil's energy-related GHG emissions in order to identify key drivers and results and compare them to a given allocation of the global carbon budget. It then focuses on the top emitting subsectors -- transport, industry, and power generation -- to identify key abatement opportunities. The report concludes with recommendations regarding a portfolio of policies and measures that could achieve both climate and energy objectives

The Logic and Limits of Environmental Criminal Law in the Global Setting: Brazil and the United States--Comparisons, Contrasts, and Questions in Search of a Robust Theory

Strict but arguably unfair and counterproductive systems of criminal environmental law and enforcement exist in both the United States and Brazll in the twenty-first century. In order to create a sovereignty dividend encompassing the rule of law and evenhanded administrative control in the competitive global setting, both countries should rethink and reform their respective systems of environmental criminal law by seeking answers to several questions of legal philosophy in search of a robust theory

Brazil’s Deferred Highway: Mobility, Development, and Anticipating the State in Amazonia

Four decades ago, Brazilian officials plotted designs for colonization and resource extraction in Amazonia; subsequently the region has become a test-lab for successive development regimes. Along the Santarém-Cuiabá Highway (Br-163) in the state of Pará, residents have engaged in a range of licit and illicit activities as official development policy has shifted throughout the years. Despite assertions that living along the unpaved road is tantamount to “being stuck” in place and time, residents move widely throughout the region, using the road, trails, streams, and rivers as thoroughfares. I argue that “being stuck” functions as a discursive label for illegible mobilities and the speculative economies they support as agrarian reform clients, ranchers, and others compete for position in anticipation of the road’s paving. Novel forms of resource speculation result from the labor of moving and maintaining anticipatory structures along the road, a process that remains obscure from state development projects

Implementation of a Costing System in the Fleet Management of a Brazilian Public University

This work presents the implementation of a costing system in Fleet Management at a Brazilian Public University, applying concepts of cost accounting, engineering, indexes, and maintenance management, as well as using the cost absorption method. As a methodology, an action research is applied to meet the objectives of being exploratory and descriptive; about the nature of the research, and applied research is adopted through a case study procedure in a Transport Coordination. To prepare for this work, the operational data of the fleet were collected during 12 months in the different units and internal control systems. The results of the study showed the operating costs of the fleet such as total fuel spent annually, totally spent on maintenance, as well as their respective indices, cost per kilometer, fixed and variable costs sufficient for accountability with the Official Bodies of Control. It was noted that the study applied in this work provided a basis for implementing a Costing System for fleet management of a Brazilian public university, respecting the guidelines of Normative Instruction No. 3, of May 15, 2008, which deals with the use and accountability, even fully complied with the requirements of the regulations regarding the Performance Control and Maintenance Maps of the Official Vehicle in an individualized manner, providing information on operational costing of the fleet sufficient for the decisions of the managers of the Public Institution