Rio Branco City Hall published an emergency hiring notice to select a new bus company in the capital Amanda de Oliveira/Rede Amazônica Acre Rio Branco City Hall published an emergency hiring notice for a new company to take over the operation of public transport in the capital. The call was published this Thursday (11), in the Official State Gazette (DOE), amid the crisis in the transport system that has been going on for six years. The measure was adopted by the Municipal Transport and Traffic Superintendence (RBTrans) due to the risk of discontinuity of the service. g1 contacted the Traffic Superintendent, Marcos Roberto da Silva Coutinho and Ricco Transportes and is awaiting a response. ✅ Join the g1 AC channel on WhatsApp 👉Context: The capital's transport system has been experiencing instability for years and operates only through emergency six-month contracts. Since 2022, the operation has been carried out by the company Ricco Transportes e Turismo, which took over 31 of the 42 lines after the departure of the company Auto Viação Floresta. As reported by Rede Amazônica, Ricco will cease operations in July. Companies applying for the contract must demonstrate technical, operational and financial capacity. Unlike previous terms, the new contract will last for up to 12 months or until there is a definitive tender. Court orders Rio Branco City Hall and Ricco Transportes to disclose contracts The notice establishes a maximum initial remuneration of R$11.56 per kilometer driven. The choice of the company will be made based on the criteria of best technique and price. Currently, in addition to the profit from tickets, Ricco receives R$3.63 per passenger as a subsidy. The deadline for submitting proposals is up to three working days after publication of the notice. Company situation raised alert According to the justification for the call, the opening of new contracts was motivated by the economic and financial fragility of the current system operator. The document highlights that a possible stoppage of public transport, such as the one that occurred in April this year, could directly affect workers, students, elderly people and other users who depend on buses for daily travel, in addition to impacting economic, educational and public health activities. According to the municipal administration, the contracts currently in force are close to completion and the definitive bidding process for regular contracting of the service remains suspended, increasing the legal and operational uncertainty of the system. Another factor mentioned in the notice is that Ricco had formally expressed interest in continuing to provide the service for just another 60 days, which, according to the city hall, reinforces the need for an emergency solution. 🚌 In crisis for six years The crisis in public transport in the capital of Acre has been going on since 2020. As soon as he took office, Mayor Tião Bocalom stated that he would not transfer any extra amounts to bus companies operating in the capital and that they should bear the losses they suffered during the pandemic. In December 2021, the city hall declared an emergency situation in public transport, published operational and financial intervention in the Integrated Urban Transport System (Siturb) and in the Union of Public Transport Companies of Acre (Sindcol). At the time, municipal management took control of the system after successive failures in providing the service and imposing fines that exceeded R$2.8 million. At that time, around 30 thousand passengers per day depended on public transport. Review Acre’s news programs