On the radial lines, triple-compartment buses in their own traffic lanes carry 300 passengers each. They go as fast as subway cars, but at one-eightieth the construction cost. The buses stop at plexiglass tube stations designed by Lerner. Passengers pay their fares, enter through one end of the tube, and exit from the other end. This system eliminates paying on board, and allows faster loading and unloading, less idling and air pollution, and a sheltered place for waiting.
Private companies own and operate the buses and keep part of each fare.
The city gets the rest to pay for roads, terminals, and to buy old buses, which are refurbished as classrooms, daycare centers, and clinics. Curitiba's citizens separate their trash into just two categories, organic and inorganic, which are picked up by two kinds of trucks. Poor families in squatter settlements unreachable by trucks bring their trash bags to neighborhood centers, where they exchange them for bus tickets, or for eggs, milk, oranges, and potatoes bought from outlying farmers. The trash goes to a plant, itself built of recycled materials, that employs 100 people to separate bottles from cans from plastic. The workers are handicapped people, recent immigrants, and alcoholics.