Lesson 8:

Rio de Janeiro

Traffic Management Strategies

What you should know by the end of this lesson:

The management strategies put in place to reduce the problems created by traffic congestion in Rio
How to evaluate these strategies and discuss how effective they are.

Management Strategies

Traffic Strategies Worksheet

Information worksheet

Using colours can help your work stand out and be separate from each other. This is also useful to help your brain remember it better. You need to be aware of the causes of problems and the impacts these problems can bring!

Digital Workbook and Paper Jotter

Read over your handouts
using different coloured pens underline the solution (in one colour) and the effectiveness in other colours (you may want to use two different colours – one to show the effectiveness and another to show ineffectiveness)
Collect your Rio Solutions/Effectiveness Table
Then use your handouts, notes & webpage to fill in your table

Warning: Some solutions may have been successful in some ways and unsuccessful in others

Rio Niteroi Bridge

While also a cause of traffic congestion, it was originally supposed to be a solution to ease traffic flow. Connecting Rio with the city of Niteroi across Guanabara Bay, providing a shorter alternative to an 80 km road journey or a one-hour ferry crossing.

Each end of the bridge is completely jammed at rush hour causing major congestion.
Bottlenecks occur at each side and car breakdowns cause huge problems, delays and congestion.

Yellow Line Expressway

With 4 dedicated lanes in each direction and a reversible lane that can be set to either direction to suit the flow of traffic. This allowed cars to travel faster as there were fewer exit and entry points from the road. It connects the wealthy suburb of Barra da Tijuca in the West Zone with Rio’s North Zone and the international airport. 70,000 vehicles use it every day.

It has been successful in removing 40% of traffic from local roads in its vicinity.

70,000 vehicles travelling on the road is 13,000 more than the road can cope with causing congestion and huge delays.
Its entrance was a bottleneck from day 1 and they had traffic jams from the first day of its opening as it is so popular.
The Yellow Line expressway is a Toll road, so people are not very happy to have to pay to use it. There have been ongoing protests since 1997 that it is illegal for LAMSA (operating company) to charge a toll under the Brazilian Constitution.
Despite the toll, LAMSA recording a loss of R$1.6 billion (£217 million) in 2019 so it is costing the Brazilian people a lot of money to keep operating.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

Exclusive bus lanes for the BRT (Bus Rapid Transport) system were created. These streamlined bus stops & lanes will keep traffic moving and reduce car journeys = less road congestion.

3 'corridors' were opened in 2017 (Trans Olimpica Project) to the commuter town of Barra de Tijuca to convince commuters to change transport methods.

More lanes will increase speeds for commuters and mean they spend more time at work which benefits businesses
The TransCarioca BRT is well within the majority of people’s budget of $.50 per journey
The Transolimpica Project will have a legacy of reducing city travel times from 1hr 50 mins to 40 mins, hugely increasing efficiencies. 95,000 passengers each day hugely decrease car use and road congestion.

The Project has however lost momentum now, with the World Cup & Olympics passing by, the 7 planned routes is now reduced to 5 with only 3 complete.
An illegal van service offering cheaper prices runs alongside the route creating more congestion.

Metro Rio

Stations are being added between Ipanema and Barra da Tijuca which will decrease journey times for commuters. An additional 14km of line will increase passenger capacity by 230,000 and so provide faster, more pleasant journeys.

This is now the safest and cleanest form of Rio public transport and so it is encouraging commuters to use it. Although it is overcrowded it is cheap and fast and so roads are quieter as a result.
Modernisation is still going on with R$1.15 billion being invested to input air conditioning and allow passengers to move between tram cars. Aid conditioning can massively improve comfort on a journey.

As with the BRT the Project has however lost momentum now, with the World Cup & Olympics passing by and it not being complete. This may not happen now for a while as there is no global or extra traffic event happening where they would of been most useful.

Trams

42 new stops in 2016 link the airport, business district and CBD = flexible and rapid access.
28km of new tram lines are planned, and the 14km completed for the 2016 deadline alleviated the overcrowding on existing lines during the Olympics, especially for tourists.

A newer and much safer tram system has greatly reduced the number of deaths caused by derailing on old tracks.
The Bondinho is now much more attractive for tourists, meaning more revenue for the city as they spend more.
New tram routes allow workers to get to jobs quickly, increasing productivity.

Bike Rio

Started in 2012 and provides 600 bikes at 60 hire stations, giving a low-cost eco-friendly alternative to the car. Aim of cleaner air, fitter commuters and less congested roads. Bike stands throughout the city, and bicycle lanes all encourage personal bike use.

300km of cycling infrastructure is starting to reduce single-car city journeys, making the air cleaner, commuters’ fitter and promoting the image of the city as modern and eco-friendly.
Bike Rio stations are charged by solar panels so are fully environmentally friendly.

Airport

Galego International Airport and Santos Dumont Domestic Airport had an R$819 million renovation
28 new boarding bridges and 68 new check-in counters.
New shops, restaurants and elevators will allow Rio to present itself and boost tourism in the future.

This will have a knock-on effect of providing funding for housing improvements such as Rocinha favela.

Galeao will rival Changi International Airport in Singapore, making Rio very attractive for business and tourism.