Drogaria Sao Paulo Uses its Own Drugstores to Confront Violence at Bus Stops

May. 16, 2025

Created by Brazilian agency LVL, the idea cross-references drugstore locations with urban violence data to extend store hours and keep dangerous bus stops lit 24 hours a day.

Brazilian drugstore Drogaria São Paulo has just launched an initiative that combines technology, urban presence, and social responsibility to tackle an old problem in big cities: nighttime violence at bus stops.

According to data from the Campbell Collaboration, an organization that produces scientific reviews to inform public policies, interventions in public lighting result in an average 21% reduction in crimes committed in the affected areas.

Based on this scenario, LVL developed a Python script with an API that, combined with geographic intelligence tools, cross-referenced data from approximately 500 Drogaria São Paulo units with more than 19,000 bus stops in the city of São Paulo. From this analysis, the most dangerous bus stops with a nearby store were identified.

To keep the lights on and businesses open in those areas, Drogaria São Paulo — the first in the market to have 24-hour stores — created a special selection process to evaluate stores that used to close at 11 p.m. to operate 24 hours.

The action reinforces the brand’s commitment to the city and aims to reignite the debate around a 2016 brazilian law — still largely ignored by bus drivers — that guarantees passengers the right to board and disembark outside official stops in dangerous areas at night.