In December 1985, Rio de Janeiro's municipal government decided to take over the city's many private bus companies, in order to improve the quantity and quality of services, to increase safety, to reduce the big profits of the companies' owners, and to improve the lot of employees. Instead, data on five of the largest companies shows a marked decline in both service and safety. By 1987, the number of buses in service had plummeted, even while the number of employees increased. Accidents on the system had more than doubled, largely because of the new and untrained government-hired personnel. Soon, the service was also US$121 million in debt. In 1988, the government reprivatized the system, and levels of service returned to pre-1985 levels.

Source: E. Vider. Urban Transport in Developing Countries: Which Policies For Our Towns?