Autoviação Jabour, a company of Grupo Guanabara linked to the family of businessman Jacob Barata, was the only candidate to compete for one of the lots of bus routes in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro. The company will continue to operate these routes for the next ten years, after winning alone the concession renewal process on Friday morning.
Jacob Barata has been considered for decades the largest operator of bus routes in Rio de Janeiro. Jabour will be responsible for 23 routes that connect neighborhoods such as Campo Grande and Santa Cruz to Cascadura, Guaratiba, Pedra de Guaratiba, and Sepetiba. Part of these routes was already operated by the company before 2010, when the first concession of routes in the city was carried out.
The bidding takes place amid a showdown between the four consortia that bring together the companies providing the service since 2010 and the municipal government. One of the most questioned points in the process was the reduction of subsidy payments to the operating groups.
The city hall decided in July 2025 to cut by 20% the total number of trips made by the consortia, which generated controversy and may have driven away other potential interested parties in the lot.
