Fortaleza will have 490 new taxis on its streets.

Ceara 247 - The mayor of Fortaleza, Roberto Cláudio, presented, at the City Hall, the first taxis approved and ready to circulate, after a bidding process carried out by the Fortaleza Urban Transport Company (Etufor).

With this action, Fortaleza will have a total of 490 newly licensed taxis, in addition to the 55 that are already starting to circulate on the city's streets today, providing greater comfort and safety to the population. The goal is for the municipality to reach a ratio of one taxi for every 500 inhabitants.

Roberto Cláudio took advantage of the event to explain how the new fleet will be introduced to the capital. “Starting today, there are 55 new taxis operating in Fortaleza, and until May 15th, more taxis will enter the streets each day as they are inspected. By May 15th, 481 should be inspected. The nine accessible taxis have until June 13th to be in circulation,” he said.

The president of the Taxi Drivers Union of Ceará (Sinditaxi), Vicente de Paula, reported on the benefits for Fortaleza residents resulting from the new fleet. “There are 490 new taxis, addressing a negative demand. The population benefits from this. With new cars, there's more safety, regulated and standardized vehicles. It's more options for the city,” he stated.

A public tender was held, numbered 001/2014 SCSP/Etufor. In total, 3.985 proposals were submitted in the initial qualification phase, of which 3.243 were qualified. A total of 1.077 appeals were recorded in the first phase alone. In the technical proposal evaluation phase, 3.764 appeals were recorded. Additionally, 71 writs of mandamus were filed.

Divided into three categories, the new taxi licenses are 451 conventional, 30 special for airport use, and nine for the adapted taxi service, known as the Inclusive Taxi System (STI). With the new taxis, Fortaleza will have 4.886 such vehicles on its streets.