After the mayor of São Paulo emphasized that 99 is not authorized to provide passenger transport services on motorcycles in the capital of São Paulo, the app-based transportation company filed a writ of mandamus to guarantee the continuity of the service. In a note, 99 says it wants to “protect the rights of the company and its passengers and motorcyclists in the face of threats from the City of São Paulo against the legal functioning of the service”.
The São Paulo Municipal Road Use Committee notified 99 on Tuesday (14), when the company began offering the service, initially outside the expanded center. In the document, “the immediate suspension/interruption of any activity related to the clandestine service of using motorcyclists for the paid individual transport of passengers through applications in this city is determined.”
Mayor Ricardo Nunes claimed that the operation of the service fails to comply with the decree signed by him in January 2023, which suspends this mode of transport. 99 insists that the decree is unconstitutional and that the private individual passenger transport service mediated by applications is permitted throughout Brazil, both for cars and motorcycles, in accordance with the National Urban Mobility Policy.
“Federal legislation establishes that city halls can regulate and supervise the activity with specific requirements, but they do not have the power to prohibit it. There are already 20 court decisions confirming this understanding of the legality of the category. The Federal Supreme Court (STF) decided in 2019 that prohibition was impossible, as it was a legitimate activity, carried out on a free initiative basis and authorized by the Constitution.”
99 reported that 99Moto has been operating since 2022, having carried out more than 1 billion trips in around 3,300 municipalities. “99 clarifies that the city hall can regulate the activity with specific rules for the location, but cannot prohibit a category that is permitted by federal legislation.” According to the company, this understanding is corroborated by 20 court decisions throughout Brazil.
Faced with criticism from Nunes about the safety of the service, 99 stated that its model of transporting passengers on motorcycles is safe and that the company is committed to improving its tools and promoting safe travel. According to the information, all races carried out through the application are protected by insurance and, in the event of accidents, 99 follows a strict service protocol, which includes financial support.
“In 2024, only 0.0003% of races had a traffic accident. This was possible thanks to 50 safety features, including: speed alert, which issues warnings in cases of excess speed; governance against dangerous driving in traffic, which promotes awareness and, if necessary, also stops reckless motorcyclists; preventive driving courses and guidance; in addition to data checking, race monitoring; among others”, he highlights.
The mayor argues that the city has 1.3 million motorcycles and that there has been an increase in the number of traffic deaths caused by motorcycle accidents. For Nunes, 99 is just looking for profit without analyzing the risks of a service like this in a capital like São Paulo.
Data provided by the municipal administration shows that the motorcycle fleet in the capital of São Paulo has increased by 10% in the last ten years. The number of accidents totaled 43,608 between 2020 and 2024. The peak was 2023, with 11,573 occurrences. In 2024 there were 9,126, slightly less than the 9,527 in 2022. According to the information, the number of deaths caused by these accidents increased by 22% between 2023 and 2024, going from 350 to 427.
“It is not possible for a company to come to the city of São Paulo and want, without any authorization, to think that it will do what it wants here. She won’t do it. We will not allow this company to come here and cause carnage. They are killers. These companies are killer and irresponsible companies. They are not going to do what they intend to do in the city of São Paulo, just looking for profit”, he emphasized. “They already make so much money, isn’t that enough? Do you want to take people’s lives? They already take a lot of money out of the city. Not lives,” he added.
Nunes promised that he would go to court against the company and ordered inspections of all motorcycles that are providing the service. “All motorcycles that are registered to perform this type of service in the city will be stopped and inspected,” said the mayor.
working group
According to a note from the city hall, a working group established in 2023 with specialists from the Traffic Engineering Company (CET), Municipal Health Department (SMS), Fire Department, SPTrans, Abraciclo and representatives of application companies, including 99 and Uber analyzed the possibility of using motorcycles for individual passenger transport and concluded that the implementation would pose a major risk to public health.
“13 meetings were held, during which data and scenarios were discussed that highlighted the risks of implementing the modality in the capital. For example, the number of fatal accidents involving motorcycles were taken into account, and data from the Municipal Health Department (SMS) which points to motorcyclists as those who are most hospitalized in traffic incidents”, says the group’s note.
According to the conclusions, the motorcyclist’s various races would increase the risks to the physical integrity of the professional, passengers and third parties. The fact that different passengers use the driver as their support on the motorcycle was also considered a risk, which changes the driver’s balance point on each trip, creating a risk of accidents.
SindimotoSP Position
For SindimotoSP (Union of Messengers, Motorcyclists, Cyclists and Intermunicipal Motorcycle Taxisists of the State and São Paulo), 99 was wrong to offer the service without authorization from the city hall and without respecting Nunes’ decree. Furthermore, it highlights that the company is also disrespecting Federal Law 12,009 which determines, among a series of factors, that the professional must take a mandatory 30-hour course from the National Traffic Council.
“For SindimotoSP, 99’s insistence on this motorbike passenger transport service will only increase the number of victims, in addition to, in the case of accidents, leaving motorcyclists and passengers in the lurch, having them bear the costs and often with his own life. SindimotoSP repudiates this attitude of 99 and stands against the company denouncing such arbitrariness, highlighting that this attitude puts lives at risk as well as increasing the precariousness of the motorcycle freight sector”.
99 said that the company remains open to dialogue with the city hall to collaborate on future regulations that are within the competence of the municipal authorities.
