How will the usage of QR Codes on São Paulo buses be expanded — and which startup is main the challenge

The new bus routes covered are in the south of São Paulo and handle around 1.3 million passengers per month

The city of São Paulo is expanding the service for paying bus fares using QR Codes starting this Thursday, 5th. The service, offered through the app SP Pass and started in October 2021 with a bus line, is now available on five other lines.

The initiative is part of the project that aims to transform São Paulo into a “smart city”, a concept that reflects on the ecosystem from which technological resources are connected to offer better experiences to citizens.

The new bus routes covered are in the south of São Paulo and handle around 1.3 million passengers per month, distributed in around 170 vehicles. In the previous phase, as a proof of concept, the line received about 6 thousand passengers per month.

The lines being integrated into the project are:

• 736G-10 – Jardim Ingá – Shopping Morumbi
• 746C-10 – Jardim Taboão – Santo Amaro
• 8026-10 – Jardim Ingá – Vila Sônia Terminal
• 746H-10 – Jaqueline Garden – Santo Amaro
• 7002-10 – Jardim Rosa Maria – Hospital das Clínicas

What are the lessons learned in the first year?

The project is led by UPM2, a startup created in 2010 that focuses on urban mobility projects. It is carried out in partnership with SPTransresponsible for managing municipal buses in São Paulo.

The first year served to show how the QR Code technology is already embedded in people’s daily lives and does not offer barriers to entry, according to Luiz Felipe Petroni, co-founder of the startup alongside his brother Rodrigo Petroni, who holds the position of CEO.

“You don’t have to have a super modern smartphone, you don’t have to have a credit card. The first thing we felt was this ease of not having an access barrier,” he says.

Despite the expansion, the advancement of technology is still timid considering the number of people who are transported on weekdays, approximately 10 million, according to data from SPTrans.

What happens, according to Petroni, is that the development of the QR Code model for buses is more complex than for other modes, such as subways and trains, which have a more controlled environment, turnstiles with fiber optics, etc.

In the case of buses, the solution needs to deal with trepidation, buses that do not return to the depot and also with “shadows”, which can interfere with technology signals.

In addition, more robust adoption requires that more cars have validators that are up to date and that allow the use of QR Codes.

“We see that all entrepreneurs and SPTrans itself want to have this system on board. It is a matter of updating the embedded system to expand the project”, he explains about the next steps of the initiative.

The new stage also included Pix as a payment method for the recharge of the Bilhete Único and should receive the option of a debit card. Previously, the service only allowed payments from digital accounts.

What is the startup moment?

The evolution of the business model should help the startup keep the pace of expansion, currently growing by 30% per month.

The percentage is the result of both mobility projects and the use of the app as a marketplace, where information about companies such as Tembici, Clickbus, 99 is available.

“We want to modernize the public transport system and improve the journey of users”, says Petroni.

The moment is also one of expectation at the startup, which is negotiating a series A funding round. Even for this reason, the executive did not disclose figures on the company’s current revenue.

Source: Exam