ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has demanded the adoption of security measures against the proliferation of the disease, especially social distancing and the enhanced natural ventilation of spaces. Therefore, public transport has revealed itself as an environment where the potential risk of contagion is increased, taking into account the difficulty in adopting the referred security measures in its use. This difficulty is further enhanced by the essential nature of this public service. Given that, the present article analyses the way in which public transport has been ensured and regulated in the metropolitan region of the city of Curitiba during the pandemic. To do so, the article presents a collection of the normative acts issued by all the federative entities that integrate the region, as well as an analysis of the political articulations and meetings that were held to discuss the issue. This investigation has revealed the lack of integrity and uniformity in dealing with the pandemic, with a significant variety of measures adopted by the metropolitan municipalities. This disparity stems, among other factors, from the weakening of COMEC, the local authority responsible for the management of the metropolitan region, and from the inadequacy of the institutional arrangement established in the RMC, which has created a difficulty to conduct integrated public actions to combat the pandemic. This lack of coordinated response favored the actions of other political actors, who pressured the Administration to adopt measures that were aligned with their agenda.
Keywords:
COVID-19 Pandemic; Essential Public Service; Regulation; Metropolitan Governance; COMEC