Carona "solidária", redes sociais e direito dos transportes: perspectiva e novas configurações do fluxo de pessoas

Abstract

The lack of effective policies to encourage the use of public transport has always been a dilemma, causing people to choose to use individual transport at the expense of collective ones, fostering a greater search for alternative and/or irregular services. Given this, other problems such as increased flow, traffic jams, accidents, etc., gave rise to a new concept: carpooling, encouraging cost-sharing and sharing of vehicles between people who travel the same path. It so happens that, once again, capital has appropriated human relations and the term “solidarity ride” has lost its meaning, showing itself to be distorted, as solidarity or mere cost-sharing has opened up space for commodification, presenting itself as a service provision. The present investigation aimed to analyze the evolution, scope, conditions and ease of communication of social networks associated with the need for locomotion of people and alternative forms of regional transport, comparing 2009 and 2019 data, using as a study in this case, the route between Ituiutaba and Uberlândia (MG). The objective was also to understand the evolution of the means of transport and the new possibilities arising from the technological and communication perspective, in addition to investigating the profile of the user who most adheres to alternative forms of transport, notably, to carpools, investigating also its legality in the context of Brazilian legislation and, finally, its viability with regard to the regional flow of people. In the meantime, the adopted methodology was based on bibliographical, documental and field research, with a quantitative-qualitative approach. As for the treatment of the data, it was consolidated through the literature search that supported the study, as well as the elaboration of graphs and tables from official data and a questionnaire applied virtually. Through the results obtained, it was diagnosed that between the leaning years there was a population increase of 8% in both cities of the survey, although the increase in the vehicular fleet was higher, in a percentage of 64% (Ituiutaba) and 69% (Uberlândia). Regarding the questionnaire and the understanding of the profile of users, it was noted that women aged between 21 and 40 years, with a high level of education and with an average income of 1 to 3 minimum wages are the ones who most benefit from the service, highlighting the fact that most of them have a motor vehicle and a driver's license and that they generally seek the service for leisure or education, using online applications to hire the service. As for legality, there is no legislation in Brazil that contemplates the figure of joint rides, applying other regulations by analogy, which leaves users and service providers, offering rides, even more vulnerable. Finally, with regard to the feasibility of using hitchhikers, there was a counterpoint between the facilities provided by the service to the detriment of precarious work, leaving no doubt that standardization should be a priority, under penalty of disregarding the concerns and needs in relation to transport as a source of work and income, and also in relation to its main function, which is to promote the flow of people.