Transportation in Rio

In the second part of the Brazil Challenges series, I'm going to discuss the transportation situation in Rio de Janeiro. While São Paulo gets a bad rap for traffic, Rio is becoming just as bad. Over the past few months, it's become a favorite Carioca complaint on social networks. People post photos of gridlock traffic (particularly in Barra and Lagoa) on Facebook and Twitter and complain about how many hours they've been on the road. (I can also attest to the growing traffic - a few months ago, I got stuck in a traffic jam on one of the city's largest highways--at 5am). Several Twitter channels, like radio station Band News, narrate traffic jams in real time.

Fellow blogger Quintino Gomes of Diário do Rio has been writing about the traffic problem on his blog and Facebook. In a recent post, he described a two-hour car ride to go 30 kilometers, and commented: "While before, traffic jams were something that happened once in awhile, now it's an everyday occurence in Rio." On December, a bus caught on fire in a tunnel on the Yellow Line, causing a mega traffic jam in the whole city, the second in the past few months. On the Caos Carioca blog, the writer lamented that when an incident happens like the fire in the tunnel, "the whole city turns into a knot." He pointed out that a single incident has a domino effect, turning into a "catastrophic chain."

Given that work has started on improving the city's infrastructure - namely, expanding the metro, which has been slowly growing over the past few years -  why is the traffic getting worse?

First, there are more cars on the road. With unemployment down, rising salaries, and increased access to credit, more and more people are able to buy and lease cars. In June, there were 67.5 million registered vehicles in Brazil, and as of early November, over 3 million vehicles were sold in Brazil this year.

Second, the roads are an issue. Because of Rio's mountainous landscape, the city's highways are connected by a series of tunnels, and when there's an accident in or near the tunnels, there is in fact a domino effect. Also, one of the biggest problems is how the city connects to Barra and Recreio, in the city's West Zone. There are only two main points access from the South Zone: one, through a tunnel passing Rocinha, and another on a two-lane road on the waterfront (it makes traffic jams easier to bear, given the spectacular views). There's always been bad traffic going to and from Barra (which is why I eventually tried to avoid going to Barra as much as possible), but it's gotten even worse. For those who live or work in Barra, it makes the day to day a nightmare.

Finally, there's the issue of public transportation. The metro, arguably one of the best forms of getting around the city, is relatively limited in its trajectory with only two lines, and is more expensive than some buses, at R$3.10 per ride. (It also doesn't run all night.) While expanding the line to Barra could really help alleviate traffic, it's going to cause more traffic in the meantime as they build the line from Leblon and shut down parts of roads. While there are plenty of buses to choose from, the proliferation of lines and the number of companies operating them has also contributed to more traffic. (The bus companies are also, unsurprisingly, opposed to extending the metro). While buses are one of the cheapest ways to get around, starting at R$2.35 per ride, with a farther reach than the metro, there are also vans and kombis. They originally came about as a cheaper alternative to buses, and functioned outside of the officially sanctioned forms of transportation. Now, the city is trying to legalize vans, by making them apply for the right documentation and also allowing passengers to pay with the bilhete único, which will also work on buses, trains, ferries, and the metro. The ferry is also an efficient way to get from Rio to Niterói, though it's come under criticism after a recent accident and a proposed fare hike.

And then, there are the trains. These commuter trains connect parts of Rio's North and West Zones, as well as suburban outskirts, with the rest of the city. Despite purchasing some gleaming new cars for the Pan American Games in 2007, the trains are possibly the worst way to get around Rio. It's always overcrowded, with far too many people squeezed into each car. The trains are not reliable; they sometimes are delayed by shootouts, or break down on the tracks. In fact, in the past two weeks there were two break downs, one near Belford Roxo and another near Oswaldo Cruz, and passengers got out of the train to "occupy" the tracks in protest. One passenger was spotted posting a sign on the train that read: "We want improvements. We're not clowns."

A Liga, a Brazilian TV show, did an excellent report on public transportation in Rio a few months ago, showing how using buses and trains often take hours for commuters -- one man took four hours to get from Leblon to the suburbs on a Friday evening, for example. It also shows ingenious solutions where transportation is lacking. In one area, people began using horse-drawn carts to get to and from the train station, since there are no buses, and an enterprising businessman bought a tiny boat to get across the bay each day for work.

 

Watch the full episode here.

Amid the hype, particularly in the American media, about Rio's World Cup and Olympics preparations, local transportation often gets lost in the mix. Much more so than crime, violence, hotel capacity, or airport infrastructure, I think this is going to be one of the biggest challenges for the mega events. But more importantly, it's become a serious daily struggle for millions of Rio commuters, and will likely be a key issue in the 2012 municipal elections as residents demand change.

Comments

[nicole]

Outside of rush hour, the train is probably the best way to travel. I take it to work often leaving at 10am and almost always get to sit. While there is not ac, there is always someone selling cold water for a dollar.

The train ties in to the metro for R$4.20. I live pretty much half way between the caxias train line and the pavuna metro line, and while taking the metro all the way would save me a little over R$1, that line is ALWAYS crowded, often to the point it is so full that you cant even feel the AC. Even if you get on the train in Iraja, it arrives full in the station and you are forced near the door (though it empties out significantly once it gets to centro or carioca at the most) It is also slow moving for the stretch where it is above ground, taking longer than the train.

The metro, is worse than many train lines, and will only get worse as they add on more stations without adding significant extra capacity to the cars and lines.

[Cora]

Can you please answer, do brazilians shower with these things: http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=sv&sa=N&biw=1366&bih=705&tbm=isch&tbnid=iH7TSosIYUWweM:&imgrefurl=http://wipexindustries.tradeindia.com/Exporters_Suppliers/Exporter15185.226553/Colored-Body-Loofah-.html&docid=CbBCDM6X8ad1jM&imgurl=http://product-image.tradeindia.com/00226553/b/0/Colored-Body-Loofah-.jpg&w=450&h=450&ei=iFv2Tpv8JvKK4gT9xcmNCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=352&vpy=143&dur=1159&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=152&ty=150&sig=104401550536891265583&page=1&tbnh=153&tbnw=154&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0

Or do they just use their hands? It would just be interesting to know.

[Adam]

Chico sang about it all years ago....

Subúrbio

Chico Buarque

Lá não tem brisa
Não tem verde-azuis
Não tem frescura nem atrevimento
Lá não figura no mapa
No avesso da montanha, é labirinto
É contra-senha, é cara a tapa
Fala, Penha
Fala, Irajá
Fala, Olaria
Fala, Acari, Vigário Geral
Fala, Piedade
Casas sem cor
Ruas de pó, cidade
Que não se pinta
Que é sem vaidade
Vai, faz ouvir os acordes do choro-canção
Traz as cabrochas e a roda de samba
Dança teu funk, o rock, forró, pagode, reggae
Teu hip-hop
Fala na língua do rap
Desbanca a outra
A tal que abusa
De ser tão maravilhosa
Lá não tem moças douradas
Expostas, andam nus
Pelas quebradas teus exus
Não tem turistas
Não sai foto nas revistas
Lá tem Jesus
E está de costas
Fala, Maré
Fala, Madureira
Fala, Pavuna
Fala, Inhaúma
Cordovil, Pilares
Espalha a tua voz
Nos arredores
Carrega a tua cruz
E os teus tambores
Vai, faz ouvir os acordes do choro-canção
Traz as cabrochas e a roda de samba
Dança teu funk, o rock, forró, pagode, reggae
Teu hip-hop
Fala na língua do rap
Fala no pé
Dá uma idéia
Naquela que te sombreia
Lá não tem claro-escuro
A luz é dura
A chapa é quente
Que futuro tem
Aquela gente toda
Perdido em ti
Eu ando em roda
É pau, é pedra
É fim de linha
É lenha, é fogo, é foda
Fala, Penha
Fala, Irajá
Fala, Encantado, Bangu
Fala, Realengo...
Fala, Maré
Fala, Madureira
Fala, Meriti, Nova Iguaçu
Fala, Paciência...