Court Allows Rio’s Move to Cashless Bus Payments to Proceed

Overview

• A judge rejected the emergency injunction sought by SEDCON and PROCON‑RJ, leaving the municipality free to implement its plan to stop accepting cash on municipal buses.
• The city began PIX tests on line 634 on Tuesday and is rolling out sales of preloaded green Jaé cards at 700 newsstands while expanding total recharge and sales points toward about 1,800 locations.
• Tariff integrations for the Bilhete Único systems will work only for registered Jaé users who use the black card or the app QR code, while PIX, NFC and prepaid green cards will debit the full fare on each trip and not grant integration discounts.
• The municipality cites that about 95% of fares are already digital and says the cashless pilot cut travel times by up to 20%, arguments used by the mayor to defend the change and reject consumer-agency criticism.
• SEDCON and PROCON‑RJ had asked the court for a 30‑day adaptation period, contingency plans and a daily R$100,000 fine for noncompliance, and the legal fight and operational rollout will determine whether vulnerable riders must adapt or receive added protections.