The Chaotic Brazilian Transport System

“It is essential to adopt public policies, thus enabling intermodal transport”

Recently, with the demonstration of the truck drivers, we have realized that our country has reached the edge of chaos because it relies almost exclusively on highways for the flow and transportation of cargo.

This dependence dates back to 1950, when Juscelino Kubitschek considered that the cheapest and simplest mode of transport to favor the integration of the national territory was the highway.

It is clear that the wrong choice of the past is harming and much the development of Brazil, because there is a logistic dependence of road transport to the detriment of rail and waterway.

The absence of investments in other modes is aggravated by the fact that there is no specific body that has a national and systemic vision of transportation and logistics and that centralizes the planning of the infrastructure, establishing the public policies fundamental for the transportation of cargo flows and integration between modes.

In fact, for the evolution of intermodal transportation, the following factors are necessary: ​​infrastructure actions, which depend on private and public investments, and also on regulation, so as to create a safe environment for these investments.

In view of this, it is essential to adopt public policies that allow harmony between all modes – road, rail, waterway and air, thus enabling intermodal transport, which is characterized by the logistic operation of transfer of materials between these various modes.

In addition, it should be emphasized that the adoption of public transport policies for cargo flow and transportation will enable improvements in infrastructure, with the consequent internal and external commercial development in the country, since the road modes will be modernized and investments will be made for the railway and waterway modes, thus adding the advantages of each modal, which will certainly contribute to the reduction of freight costs and, consequently, of materials.

Therefore, Brazil needs to adopt public policies aimed at the intermodal transport of cargo flow so that Brazilians are not subject to the effects of a new demonstration of truck drivers, thus guaranteeing the well-being of the population.