Coronavirus: Brazil suspends int’l bus travel

Brazil’s National Land Transport Agency ANTT today (18) ruled the suspension of all international road trips with passengers, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The decision applies to regular, charted, and semi-urban road transport in border areas by both foreign and domestic companies.

The suspension is to be in effect for 60 days, and may be extended in the future.

The agency also ordered firms to carry out sanitation efforts in their vehicles to prevent the spread of “viruses, bacteria, fungi, mites, and microorganisms harmful to health.”

Measures include sanitizing or sterilizing hands, bars, railing, and turnstiles, ticketing equipment, and other surfaces often touched by passengers, drivers, and fare collectors, after each trip. Hand sanitizers with 70% alcohol must be available—along with masks, if possible—to drivers, fare collectors, and passengers.

The body stated fare refunds should abide by current regulations, which stipulate that the payment should be converted at the exchange rate in effect on the day of the refund.