Metro Price Will Increase in Rio de Janeiro Next Month

By Lisa Flueckiger, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – After the bus and taxi prices have already increased at the beginning of the year, Rio de Janeiro’s metro is set to follow with new tariffs that go into force on April 2nd. The rate for a one-way ride will rise from R$3.50 to R$3.70.

Rio de Janeiro’s regulatory transport agency, AGETRANSP, has authorized the increase in the metro price on February 26th and decided to schedule the date of the new rate for April 2nd, as passengers have to be informed thirty days in advance.

The increase in metro prices follows after bus and taxi rates had already risen at the beginning of the year.

The last increase in metro fees took place less than a year ago on May 18th, when prices rose from R$3.20 to R$3.50. Before that, the rate had been stable since April 2012, as an increase from February 2013 was annulled due to nation-wide protests.

The new rate was calculated by AGENTRANSP using the tariff calculated for the last increase of R$3.5346 and the IGP-M price index of the Getulio Vargas foundation. The result of R$ 3.6753 was then rounded up.

Currently, those using the Bilhete Único when traveling by metro are still paying the old rate of R$3.20, a so-called “social rate”. So far, it has not been clear if the social rate will be continued and at what price.

In the same act, AGETRANSP has also announced fines for the SuperVia train company for problems that occurred with the trains in June 2013 and September 2014. The first fine is R$ 43,284.10 and the second R$39,145.60.

These fines however, do not yet include the one announced for the crash between two trains in January 2015, where over 200 people got hurt.