The mayor of Sao Paulo, Ricardo Nunes (MDB), met with Councilwoman Sandra Santana (MDB), to discuss the bill (PL) 32/2025, which amends Law No. 13,241, of December 12, 2001, to include transportation by transportation cable car as Public Transport Modality in the state capital.
The idea presented to the mayor suggests implementing the cable car in the region of Brasilândia, in the north of São Paulo.
“You who are from the Brasilândia region, who live in a very high place, I’m here with Councilwoman Sandra Santana, our dear. We’re here doing a nice project, see? I won’t tell you, soon, you’ll see,” says Nunes in a video of the meeting, posted by Sandra on Instagram (26).
According to the councilwoman’s project, Brasilândia would be the place chosen for “a rugged topography and a geometric form that rises abruptly compared to the rest of the city, making access and mobility extremely challenging.”
“The area is marked by narrow and steep streets, which make it difficult to traffic and transport cargo and passengers, exacerbating the difficulties faced by residents,” continues the councilwoman in justifying the proposal.
The cable car
The project aims to serve the capacity of ten people inside the cable car cabin, which would be 4.6 km long and would travel an average speed of 18 km/h.
It is expected that 3,210 passengers could be served per hour in two directions. The forecast is that the transportation is 15 seconds between each vehicle.
For the councilwoman, the cable car would improve urban mobility and “will also promote greater social and economic integration of the region with the urban center”, which would result in “extended opportunities for residents, boosting local development and contributing to the reduction of regional inequalities, as it will be interconnected to strategic points of population displacement, such as subway, bus terminals, among others”.
During the election campaign for the City of São Paulo in 2024, then candidate Pablo Marçal (PRTB), Nunes’ opponent at the time, promised to build a cable car to operate in the city and improve urban mobility in the municipality.
“We need to give mobility to this city, need to generate jobs for this city. This will reduce crime, this will increase the enjoyment, this will give a lot of people and stop this chaos, with this standard traffic, with this polluted air,” Marçal said in an interview with CNN at the time.
A CNN questioned the city’s advisory about comparisons between the proposals.
What the system would be like
Also according to PL 32/2025, the cable car transport system is formed by:
- shipping and landing stations distributed primarily in the areas of greater population density and connection points with the conventional public transport system (bus, subway and trains);
- Cabins with capacity to safely and comfortably carry passengers, ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities or reduced mobility, in accordance with current standards;
- Equipment and infrastructures necessary to ensure the efficient, safe and sustainable functioning of the system, observing the environmental and safety guidelines required by regulatory agencies and competent agencies.
For the endorsement of the bill, which was presented in the City Council, Sandra Santana states that SP Urbanismo – a public company linked to the Municipal Secretariat of Urbanism and Licensing – should be consulted “regarding the urban adequacy of the system implementation proposals as well as the guidelines for the implementation, operation and maintenance of the cable cars”.
