City: Curitiba, Brazil

Reporting to: Director of the “Urban Hypervisor” at the Institute for Research and Urban Planning of Curitiba (IPPUC)

The Challenge

Curitiba is known worldwide for creating the first bus rapid transit system fifty years ago. Today, however, there is a concerning trend that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic: The city’s public transportation system has lost 30 percent of its passengers over the past ten years. As transit ridership falls, traffic congestion  worsens, leading to a growing number of traffic jams and longer commutes.

In early 2026, the city is expected to select a new operator to manage the public transit system. A contract is expected to be signed in July 2026, and the new operators will have a year to structure operations planned to start in July 2027. Mayor Eduardo Pimentel is eager to leverage this transition to test innovative ideas for attracting new transit riders.

One idea city leaders are piloting would enable bus riders to more easily transfer from one bus to another without paying a second fare. Generally, free transfers are only allowed within major bus terminals. In the pilot, the city will allow 1,000 riders to make free transfers using a special card to capture data on changes in transit usage. This project will include utilizing a rider survey to capture how residents feel about the free-transfer system at the beginning and the end of the pilot study. City leaders hope that if transit users like the change and it builds ridership, the new transit operator will roll the change out more broadly. By June 2026, data collection for the pilot will be complete, and analysis of the results can begin.

Key questions include:

• Does offering free transfers increase transit ridership?
• Does offering free transfers change usage of transit routes?
• How much revenue might be lost if free transfers are rolled out more widely?
• Would offering free transit transfers reduce car trips and traffic congestion?
• How do transit riders like the free-transfer system?
• How do the results of the pilot connect to public safety, regional economic development, and other considerations?

What You’ll Do

The fellow will analyze the results of Curitiba’s free transit transfer pilot, assess the potential for the strategy to attract transit riders and reduce car trips, and make strategic recommendations based on the results. The fellow will be based at the Institute for Research and Urban Planning of Curitiba (IPPUC), within a data analysis center, known as the Urban Hypervisor. The fellow will also collaborate closely with a team working on the pilot as part of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative’s Data Track. Other internal stakeholders include the current public transit management company and the city’s Departments of Finance and Communications. External stakeholders include public transportation users, bus drivers’ unions, academia, and the general public.

Key deliverables include:

• Development of key performance indicators to rigorously measure the pilot’s impact on service quality, operational efficiency, user satisfaction, and modal shift from individual car use to transit.
• Cleaning, processing, and analyzing data from the pilot, including the rider surveys.
• A report synthesizing insights from the pilot related to the potential of free transfers to shift trips from private vehicles to public transit, as well as broader interconnections with urban safety, the regional economy, environment, and other factors.
• A brief summarizing actionable and data-driven policy recommendations for City Hall.
• A presentation to key stakeholders outlining methodologies, key findings, and strategic recommendations.

What You’ll Bring

The fellow will be expected to possess the following skills:

• Data Analysis
• Qualitative Interviewing and Analysis
• Portuguese or Spanish Fluency (preferred)
• Policy Analysis

Apply here

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