February 15, 2022

06:02

Iury Lima – from Cenarium Magazine

VILHENA (RO) – “Panic, fear and despair”. These were the sensations that marked the experience of hairdresser Kemilly Sthifler, 24, resident of Manaus, in her first trip aboard a bus of Transporte Coletivo Brasil (TCB), better known as TransBrasil, a company that operates throughout much of the country, since 2009, collecting fines, accidents and complaints.

The most recent, sent to CENARIUM MAGAZINE, was a nightmare of almost seven days for about 30 of 45 passengers who boarded in Porto Velho bound for the capital of Amazonas. A series of challenges that, added to the negligence of the company, resulted in a struggle for survival in the middle of the quagmire of the BR-319 highway, without water, food or communication, besides a 17-kilometer walk in search of help. 

There were two problems: the first, an accident between Porto Velho and Humaitá, which left the bus overturned, and a long wait for help. The second, a mechanical failure that compromised the operation of a second company vehicle, in an attempt to cross the road covered in mud. 

With no support from TransBrasil, the passengers had to ask for help on the road while it was daylight and, during the nights, seek shelter inside the damaged bus. They left Rondônia on Tuesday, February 1, and only arrived home on the following Sunday, February 6, after hitching a ride in a truck, as well as shelter, water, food, and new transportation in the community of Igapó-Açu.

Insecurity

The problems started right at the time of boarding. The overcrowding of passengers, the accumulation of luggage in inappropriate compartments – even in the vehicle’s bathroom – and the precarious conditions for traveling on the highways already hinted at the possibility of a tragedy.

“As the trip was to another state, we imagined a big and cozy bus, but when the time came, a broken, old bus appeared, and everyone was afraid. I felt very insecure, but we couldn’t do anything because, from Porto Velho, this was the only bus that came to Manaus,” Kemilly told the report. “We left the bus station around 2:30 pm. There were 45 passengers on board, and the capacity was for 32,” added the survivor, disgusted with the failure to comply with the measures established to maintain a minimum of security.

The Accident

The trip that was supposed to take a little more than 13 hours by car, started to become a living hell after almost 200 kilometers traveled, when the vehicle fell down a cliff, hanging to the right side. At this point it was about 40 kilometers to the nearest city, Humaitá, 696 kilometers from the final destination. Kemilly says that many passengers, just like her, who had scratches on their bodies, were injured, and that one boy broke his collarbone.

She also reveals that help took a long time to arrive; a bus provided by another company. “When it was around 8:30 pm, a bus from SiqueiraTur arrived, with the TransBrasil staff inside, saying that they would give us support and take us to the city of Humaitá,” she said. 

Upon arrival, another dose of disregard and negligence: “The TransBrasil staff simply bought a packed lunch and a glass of water for each passenger. About an hour and a half later, we were surprised with a third bus. A girl from the company said: ‘Look, there has been an accident. No one else is seriously hurt, just one guy who is going to have surgery. So, you only have two options: either you stay here in Humaitá without any support, or you get on the bus that will go to Manaus”, she said, indignant.

Abandoned on BR-319

Without many options, at least 30 passengers continued their trip with Transbrasil to Manaus. However, little did they know that the worst was yet to come. “Everyone agreed that it was better for us to continue. And, also, we were going to have no support, no hotel (…) everyone was already almost broke. Many people got their bags stuck on the side where the bus crashed, because they [TransBrasil] would only remove the bags the next day, after noon,” the young woman told the report. 

It was upon reaching the BR-319 highway that the vehicle got bogged down in the mud. “And it got to a certain stage of the route where the passengers, the men, had to get off to help, because the bus had no more power,” said the hairdresser. Without any return from TransBrasil, everyone spent the night in the middle of the road. The next day, the passengers started to organize themselves to provide support, one to another, with money and whatever else was left from the previous accident.

“TransBrasil was the one who should have been providing support and transportation. They threw us on the road and nobody else took responsibility. We had to drink water from the river, because we were without water and there were few houses around the BR to ask for help. Furthermore, we got to a part of the road where the bus didn’t work anymore, it was only good for sleeping, so we wouldn’t be at the mercy of the jungle. The carburetor had already broken down, the air conditioning was no longer working (…) so, the bus was breaking down in the middle of the BR-319,” he said.  

“There was a certain moment when the driver said, ‘Look, I give up. You’re going to have to find a way, walk, call for help, because I can’t get in touch with anyone, we have no signal. So we took the bus, slept in it, and the next day, at 5:30 in the morning, everybody got together and decided to walk. We walked 17 kilometers, until a truck passed and the driver asked what had happened. He then said he could take us to the community of Igapó-Açu, where we could take a bath, ask for help, and get food,” continued Sthifler. 

“The young woman says that the passengers arrived at the community of Igapó-Açu on Saturday, the 5th, and that there, they were very well received. They were given water, food, offered a bath and clean clothes. “The other day we talked to a guy who has a minibus, but we told him that we had no money because of the accident, but that we could pay with a pix transfer once we arrived in town and talked to our relatives. He agreed and charged a cheap price for everyone,” she added, now relieved. 

More negligence

To reach the destination, the new driver, who helped the passengers, did what TransBrasil was not able to do, even though it was paid to do so: he drove everyone to safety and even paid for the crossing of a ferry to reach the Amazon capital. But there was more. More negligence from the company. 

“When we arrived at the bus station, the TransBrasil staff in Manaus said that they were aware of the accident, but that the company staff in Porto Velho said that we were getting all the advice and support, but it was nothing like that. We spent days of hunger, we walked for kilometers, we stayed for days without water. The drivers stayed in the middle of the road and we only continued our trip because we were all very distressed,” she told CENARIUM.

According to the passenger, the most that TransBrasil did was to ask for personal data of the victims of their own carelessness and unpreparedness to operate, such as full names and the list of goods that were lost. “And they didn’t clarify anything for us. We left the bus station at 11pm on Sunday, and until today we haven’t received any phone calls. Many people have already gone to the health center to get a consultation and medicine, because at the time of the crash, everyone was hurt, but we only felt pain afterwards,” Kemilly added, about the lack of feedback from the company. 

It’s not news

Sought through several channels of communication, TransBrasil ignored all attempts of contact and questions made by CENARIUM. All requests were received, but none answered.

However, TransBrasil’s collection of irregularities is nothing new. Accessible to the vast majority of travelers, who choose to buy tickets up to 50% cheaper, the company does not invest what it earns to desprecarizar the services it provides to society. 

According to an investigation by the Metrópoles portal, until 2017, the company had nine lines to run throughout Brazil, the same year in which it already had almost 6,000 fines during inspections and 14,000 notices of violation.  TransBrasil also has a vast collection of lawsuits for labor rights. It also has clandestine terminals to sell tickets and leases concessions to third parties, who put on the roads outdated buses falling to pieces, adhered with the enterprise’s logo, as if it were a franchise. 

“This company should stop selling tickets. It should stop putting the lives of others at risk. I and some passengers want justification from Transbrasil. We want compensation and we will do everything possible to file a lawsuit and get our rights,” concluded Kemilly Sthifler.