If you’ve been to Brazil, it’s likely you’ve taken a bus. If so, you’ve met the cobrador, or fare-taker. The position provides employment for as many fare-takers as there are bus drivers in the country, but the real question is: are they necessary? Both sides have been debated for at least the last several years (maybe even longer).
Those who are pro-cobrador say it’s safer to have a separate person dealing with the money, so that the bus driver can focus on driving and keeping the schedule. As I also mentioned, with virtually every Brazilian city employing people as fare-takers, it carries with it the obvious advantage of bringing an income to more families.
People who are against having cobradores say the country needs to “get with the times” and install electronic means of taking a cash fare (like in the US). Most Brazilian buses these days actually have a card reader for passengers who pre-pay, or who get a discount due to age, profession or disability. In some capital cities like São Paulo, the percentage of people paying fares in cash is so astonishingly low that those against the profession are starting to make a stronger argument for their cause.
Which is better in your opinion?
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Adam Lee says
August 30, 2013 at 11:22 amHi Giovanni,
I understand what you mean. There are several aspects of riding the bus in Brazil that can sometimes be frustrating, principally (for me) when the drivers go too fast and when they decide to not stop at the bus stop even though I’m clearly waiting and waving down the bus.
Once, there were so many people on the bus that by the time the doors opened for me to get off, they were already closing again and I had to walk a long ways because the driver wouldn’t stop until the next bus stop (I don’t think he could hear me over so many people also talking).
Thank you for your comments! Enjoy Italy!
giova says
August 29, 2013 at 12:42 pmHello Adam
My name is Giovanni, i have taken the bus many times in my stay in Porto Alegre and also when i have returned there on holidays. So i am very familiar with bus transportation. I would say i am for the Cobrador on the bus, some of the cobrador’s are friendly and then there are some really miserable and arrogant Cobradors. I have had two incidents regarding the cobradors, first of all as a paying consumer i should enjoy my service on the bus and not resort to having to have a confrontation with regards to the working mechanism of the turnstile system that is implemented on all buses.
I had seen it happen, before my experience. My first incident happened in October 2010 after when i had just paid my bus fare, the cobrador(male) released the turnstile for me to go through. As these turnstiles are very arkward, sometimes they are hard to push, nonetheless i pushed the turnstile to let myself through and i got stuck in the middle with the result the turnstile turned and i did’nt get past. Oh what a bummer, i went all red in my face and the cobrador said to me, that i cant go through unless i pay again. When i heard this, my blood started boiling. I am a very ordinary law abiding citizen and dislike confrontations. I said calmly that i had paid and have the right to my bus trip, whether i was at fault with this really annoying turnstile system or not, i utterly refused to cough up another bus fare. The cobrador stood his ground and would not have anything further with me. At this stage i felt so uneasy that i decided to exit the front of the bus and i called the driver who was smoking off the bus. I explained to the bus driver what had happened, he immediately called another colleague who was close by, as the bus was at the bus station at the start of it’s route. I assume it was an inspector who was called and as he approached the situation was explained to him and the problem was resolved very professionally without further to do. The inspector ordered the bus driver to open the door at the back of the bus to allow me on. So i got on the bus and i was happy.
My second incident happened in February of this year also in Porto Alegre, at the very same Bus station. So i entered the bus and paid the cobrador(woman) my bus fare. She released the turnstile and i accidently pushed it too hard and it spun twice but this time i got through the turnstile. At this point i hadn’t realised that the turnstile turned twice. The lady Cobrador calls me furiously with a very arrogant attitude. I turned around honestly unaware of what had transpired, until the Cobrador brought to my attention that the turnstile had been pushed twice. I looked a bit surprised and responded my apologies, but the Cobrador would’nt allow me to get away and continued saying ……
" E agora voce tem de pagar de novo" i said ….. "o que, porque tem de pagar de novo". "E assim como funciona o rolete, voce empurrou duas vezes, entao voce tem de pagar de novo".
To cut a long story short, the lady cobrador said that if i didn’t pay her again that she would have to pay out of her own pocket. At this point i had tried to explain that it could’ve been unintentional and a little misunderstanding with the functioning of the turnstile, she would not hear anything except that i had to pay again, i refused and i went to sit down. The cobrador continued moaning and passed comments about me with each paying passenger as they gained past the turnstile. I ignored the situation and when i got to my family’s home, i immediately called the bus Company and complained. I was promised that the outcome would be dealt with. I never ever heard anything thereafter and the matter was not resolved and i also did not persue it further.
With the second incident i felt i was humiliated in front of passengers. In my professional capacity i feel that the bus company is to blame as the Cobrador wasn’t trained professionally to deal with clients. Second of all, this turnstile mechanism is very instable and outdated, it causes a lot of confusion and unnecessary discomfort for passengers as it is very narrow to get past. I would suggest implimenting a more suitable accessability once a passenger has paid his/her fare. Other than this i enjoy taking the bus when i need to use the transport. I think the cobrador is a good option, except teaching some of them manners and more professionalism.
I thank you for bringing up this post, it was very interesting.