Company backs down in the face of municipal law that provides for fines of up to R$ 1.5 million and prohibits travel in the expanded center and on rainy days
99 officially communicated to the administration of Mayor Ricardo Nunes that it has given up operating the passenger transport service by motorcycles in São Paulo (SP). The decision was sealed in a face-to-face meeting between the mayor and the company’s CEO, Simeng Wang. The strategic retreat comes four months after the sanction of a municipal law whose requirements were classified by the sector as prohibitive for the viability of the business.
The legislation, approved in December 2025, imposes severe geographical and climatic restrictions on the sport. The motorcycle taxi service by app is prohibited throughout the expanded center and on rapid transit roads, such as the Pinheiros and Tietê marginal roads. In addition, the rule prohibits running on days of heavy rain, which makes real-time logistics management difficult.
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For motorcyclists, the municipal rules require a minimum age of 21 years, specific training courses and periodic toxicological exams. On the side of the operators, the city requires the implementation of speed limiters in the applications and the installation of physical rest points. The main obstacle, however, is the regime of sanctions: daily fines for non-compliance with the rules range from R$ 4,000 to R$ 1.5 million.
While Nunes defends the measures under the argument of road safety, the Brazilian Association of Mobility and Technology (Amobitec) questions the legality of the text in court. The platforms claim that the municipality does not have the competence to legislate on an activity already authorized by federal law and endorsed by the Federal Supreme Court (STF). With the closure of the two-wheeled passenger service in São Paulo, 99 informed that it should concentrate efforts on the expansion of 99 Food and other corporate services.
