The plenary session of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), in a virtual deliberation this Monday morning (11/10), formed a majority to declare unconstitutional the São Paulo state law regulating and restricting motorcycle taxi services throughout the state. The session officially ends at 11:59 p.m.
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Motorcycle taxi stand in northern zone, Peru
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Report from Metropoles from the back of a motorcycle taxi in Sao Paulo
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Motorcycle taxis in the south of Sao Paulo
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Motorcycle taxis in the south of Sao Paulo
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City council discusses motorcycle taxi regulations
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City council discusses motorcycle taxi regulations
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JR Freitas, leader of the motorcycle delivery movement, during a session at the CCJ of the São Paulo City Council
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In September this year, the rapporteur, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, had already suspended the regulation, considering that banning or restricting the transport of passengers by motorcycles is unconstitutional “in violation of the principles of free enterprise and free competition”.
In this Monday’s vote, Moraes argued that the law is unconstitutional in both form and substance. He also stressed that federal law already requires local governments to oversee and regulate these services themselves, and that states “cannot intervene or supplement this issue in order to reform the legal system.”
“This restriction forces the public to follow potentially more expensive, slower and less efficient alternatives, weakening the competitive environment and clearly to the detriment of consumers. This is because it is a well-known fact that personal passenger transport via apps, especially motorcycles, has a more affordable cost, which represents a strong alternative to public transport,” the rapporteur commented.
So far, Ministers Díaz Toffoli, Edson Fasin and Carmen Lucia have accompanied Alexandre de Moraes to the polls. Flavio Dino also joined the majority and booked transportation and delivery applications other than motorcycle taxis. “Humans are not video game characters. Like any consumer product, they have multiple ‘lives’ that should be explored and discarded to the fullest,” he said.
Cristiano Zanin joined Moraes in expressing concern about the power of municipalities to regulate and monitor motorcycle taxi services through apps, calling for the establishment of “all conditions for its exercise, taking into account regional specificities.”
When contacted, São Paulo management would not comment on the vote until after the report was published. The space remains open.
Approved by state law in June
According to Law 18,156/2025, approved in June of this year, the implementation of passenger transport services by motorcycle on application requires prior authorization from the local government.
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But for the STF, the state law “is inconsistent with the STF’s jurisprudence regarding traffic and transportation and violates exclusive federal authority.” Furthermore, the law was deemed to be a “barrier to entry” and an “unreasonable obstacle” to carrying out the activity.
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