Public transport, pandemic and segregation

reflections around the relationship between public bus transport and users during the pandemic period in Belém, state of Pará

Abstract

Given the context of the covid-19 pandemic that has devastated several countries, Belém, capital of Pará, suffered numerous consequences, including the restricted use of public bus transport by the population. The consequences of reducing the number of buses in Belém during the pandemic period were researched, based on sanitary measures received from government bodies. Before this context, the capital experienced a reality where the bus fleet was reduced in relation to the number of users, in addition to the precariousness of the service. Therefore, the objective of the research is to study the impact of this measure on the lives of users of this public transport. For this, we used qualitative and bibliographic methodology. A questionnaire was used to interview public transport users in three specific points in the city. Analytically, we use the concepts of urban spoliation (Kowarick, 1993) and necropolitics (Mbembe, 2018) to understand the sanitary measures applied and the consequences that are experienced in the lives of those who apply this service. The results show us that the deliberations put into effect by the government, both at the federal and state levels, with regard to public transport, increased the spread and circulation of the virus, as well as deepening the precariousness of the service, putting the lives of users at risk of public transport.