"There is no such thing as free, someone is paying," says Sílvio Mendes about free fares in transport

Sílvio Mendes commented on the issue of free fares in public transport, stating that "there is no such thing as free, someone is paying." According to him, although certain passengers do not pay the fare directly, the cost of these trips continues to be absorbed by the system and by public authorities. The statement was made in a context of debate about the financing of public transport and the financial impacts of free fares for certain groups. The politician emphasized that the costs of subsidized trips need to be covered somehow, whether by other passengers, by government subsidies, or by other financing mechanisms of the system.