This brief explores certain challenges faced in a partnership between FGV CEPESP and São José dos Campos, started in 2018, which represents a unique opportunity of applied research to pilot new procurement models. São José dos Campos transportation procurements will be terminated in the first quarter of 2021 and current providers will continue to operate only up to when new providers are selected to start a new bus system. From the beginning, the city was interested in addressing key issues related to transport innovation, like offering bus on demand services for citizens, as well as separating bus ticketing and payment-processing services under a different procurement. In order to facilitate data access, the city also accepted our suggestion to separate mobility technology and data-processing services under different procurements. These are three short-term ambitions, currently in progress under four main public procurement processes. 

After our advice, São José dos Campos also intends in the long-run to implement a mobility as service solution, which will require adjusting and creating regulation for mobility apps, pricing negative externalities, and subsidizing positive externalities. Preparing the city to make data-driven mobility policy also requires additional institutional capacities and São José dos Campos intends to improve the local institutional environment to accommodate new capacities for procurement supervision within the city’s human resources and for data-processing under an open mobility data laboratory.