In total there are 2,349 municipal bus lines with information on the initial and final departure times, line extension, interconnected system area from where the line departs (SPTrans regional division), subsystem to which the line belongs, day or night class, and the amount of thoroughfare segments comprising the line.

The bus lines database for the City of São Paulo is an offshoot of the research integrating the CEM/CEPID research line “Governance patterns in urban politics.” This is the first set of consolidated georeferenced data with free public access concerning the universe of bus lines in the City of São Paulo, tracing a portrait of the bus lines in the month of September 2015.

Created from data obtained through the Law of Access to Information and the SPTrans website, the database is an important resource for researchers devoted to urban studies when understanding the production dynamics behind bus services, still an under-researched subject within the Brazilian social sciences. By categorizing the characteristics of the network of bus lines we widen the analytical possibilities for urban mobility, generally focused on issues pertaining to travel time, transport modalities, and road use.

Based on the CEM bus line database, one may assess the inequalities of access to bus services within the city's territory and the empirical consistency of arguments used by technicians and bureaucracies to justify projects under the guise of “rationalization of bus lines” by identifying the degree of the network’s overlap and extension. Given that this database refers to a particular historical period, this is an important initial step towards future researches focused on understanding changes in bus line networks across different city administrations.

The database includes information such as line routes (round trip), passenger load, responsible companies, bus fleet, and creation date of the lines.

The procedure

The transformation of this database into a georeferenced digital cartographic file was possible with the use of CEM’s Geographical Information System (GIS). The georeferencing process involved the tracing of the bus routes from the existing SPTrans routes and its compatibility with CEM’s updated Thoroughfares Database (streets, avenues, passageways, bridges, and viaducts). We sought the most accurate adherence to the outlines of the bus routes in the CEM's Thoroughfares Database, tracing the same outline used in both databases. Thus, when tracing the bus lines from thoroughfares it becomes possible to associate information on bus lines to information regarding thoroughfares, districts, census tracts, and all other georeferenced databases constructed and made available by CEM in its Database.

In turn, the georeferenced file for the bus lines was constructed by the combination of tables containing information on the companies in charge of operating the lines, including bus fleets, number of departures, and types of vehicles (among other information) and tables containing information on transported passengers and fare payment methods, discounts, or gratuities.

Altogether, there are 2,349 municipal bus lines (the round trip of a line is considered two distinct lines) with information on the initial and final departure times, line extension, interconnected system area from where the line departs (a SPTrans regional division), subsystem to which the line belongs, day or night class, and the amount of thoroughfare segments. Over 99% of the lines, 2,337, also have complete information regarding the average number of daily passengers, payment methods, gratuities used, and the company responsible for operating the line. Information also exists about the creation date for 2,343 lines, allowing us to analyze the historical constitution of the current road network comprising the public transport system.

The database may be accessed through the CEM Database. Access is immediate after user registration.