{"id":25043,"date":"2015-11-03T08:36:58","date_gmt":"2015-11-03T11:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=25043"},"modified":"2022-12-29T12:30:50","modified_gmt":"2022-12-29T15:30:50","slug":"transport-shifts-in-rio-bus-cuts-affect-disenfranchised-north-and-west-zone-residents-the-most","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=25043","title":{"rendered":"Transport Shifts in Rio: Bus Cuts Affect Disenfranchised North and West Zone Residents the Most"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/i><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Set\u00a0with the task of hosting World Cup<\/a>\u00a0Games and the 2016 Olympics<\/a> in the span of two years, Rio de Janeiro’s Mayor\u00a0Eduardo Paes<\/a> has invested billions of reais in a wide range of transport development projects. Meanwhile, however, the primary and traditionally most important form of urban transport–the city’s buses–are suffering massive cuts that have left many passengers reeling.<\/p>\n

On October 3, the city nixed 11 bus lines<\/a> traveling from the West Zone<\/a> to the city\u00a0center<\/a>, replacing them with five new lines which require a transfer at Botafogo in the South Zone<\/a>. On October 24, another eight lines from the North Zone and city center to the South Zone were eliminated<\/a>, and\u00a0eight additional lines were shortened; two new lines were added their place. Ultimately, the Municipal Transport Secretariat (SMTR)\u00a0will cull its fleet by 35%, or 700 buses<\/a>, with 70 lines replaced by 16 new routes<\/a> by March\u00a02016. The schedule of planned changes<\/a> for 2015 has already been adjusted along the way<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201c[This consolidation] is in compliance with the mayor\u2019s plan, the objective of which is to implement new networks of mobility in the city, improve the flow of public transport, and reduce transit times for passengers,\u201d the SMTR said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For residents traveling to the commercial center and South Zone, however, mobility is declining. Previously, passengers could take one bus to the center via the South Zone from neighborhoods like Vargem Grande in the West Zone. But with the new truncated bus lines, commuters have to take an extra bus, prolonging their commute.<\/p>\n

Thus, riders have no choice but to get accustomed to increased travel times. \u201cWe end up having to change our routine or we\u2019ll be fired,\u201d said Igor Portes, 31, in an interview with EXTRA<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Cost is another issue. With the Bilhete \u00danico (Single Ticket), Rio\u2019s bus pass, users can transfer from one bus to another\u00a0with a single fare ticket (R$3.40), so long as the connection is made within two and a half hours. These new routes, however, force commuters from the fringes of the city to scramble to reach their second bus without losing the benefit of the Bilhete \u00danico. Cabins are more crowded with fewer buses in commission, and, for many passengers, the Bilhete \u00danico will expire if they wait for another bus to arrive.<\/p>\n

\u201cMorning commuters from Vargem Grande, Recreio, and Barra da Tijuca<\/a> cannot rely on the BRT<\/a> [Bus Rapid Transit] which is always packed during peak hours. The city ought to reevaluate the time limit of the Bilhete \u00danico to improve Rio\u2019s transit,\u201d said Alexandre Rojas, an Engineering and Transport professor at UERJ, in an interview with EXTRA<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

But when EXTRA <\/em>asked if he would extend the Bilhete \u00danico\u2019s time limit, the Municipal Transport Secretary, Rafael Picciani, said it was \u201cimprobable<\/a>.\u201d In another interview<\/a>, he\u00a0said the concerns people had raised were \u201cunlikely to occur,” but that “the concerns of the population will only subside when the changes are implemented without harm\u00a0caused to the passenger.\u201d<\/p>\n

O Dia<\/em> reports the change in buses will affect as many as 100,000 people<\/a> as 70% of the lines traveling to the South Zone will be cut or modified.<\/p>\n

Context<\/h3>\n

In his seven-year tenure as Rio\u2019s mayor, Eduardo Paes has emphasized transport investments as his primary infrastructure legacy: a US$105\u00a0million cable car<\/a>\u00a0trundles across Complexo do Alem\u00e3o<\/a>\u00a0and another<\/a> climbs up Provid\u00eancia<\/a>;\u00a0Bus Rapid Transit<\/a> routes have been installed; an expansion to the metro system<\/a>\u00a0will link the South Zone to Barra da Tijuca; and in April a light rail<\/a> will cover\u00a0the Port area<\/a>\u00a0and city center.\u00a0Presently, there are more transportation\u00a0modes\u00a0available\u00a0than ever.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Yet the timing of Rio’s restructuring of its bus network is questionable. As summer approaches, the iconic South Zone beaches attract cariocas<\/em> from across the city. Occasionally, groups of youth commit arrast\u00f5es<\/a><\/em>\u2014literally translated as big drags\u2014or mass robberies. And though only a minority carry out arrast\u00f5es<\/em>, Afro-Brazilian adolescents from the North Zone<\/a> are perceived as the primary threat.<\/p>\n

Police, in response, have halted several buses destined for the South Zone from the North Zone,\u00a0arresting or detaining black\u00a0youths<\/a> who had not committed a crime on the pretense of preventing an\u00a0arrast\u00e3o<\/em>. Vigilante groups have also retaliated. On September 20, rogue Copacabana residents<\/a> attacked bus 474 on its way back to the North Zone, breaking windows and attacking passengers.<\/p>\n

The SMTR had unveiled its plan in March<\/a> to wean more than 700 buses from the streets; when asked, Secretary Picciani denied<\/a> the notion that the arrast\u00f5es<\/em>\u00a0played a role in the SMTR\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see any link between the changes in transport and the issue of criminality and, much less, that this was some form of retaliation. It\u2019s important to understand that this streamlining is to give a greater sense of reunification.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Copacabana<\/a><\/p>\n

The logic behind the controversial restructuring comes from a PUC-Rio report<\/a> conducted in October 2014, which cited 80 municipal bus lines in the Center and South Zone operating at 15% capacity<\/a> outside peak transit hours.<\/p>\n

Regardless of motive, the new bus routing\u00a0has significantly restricted access to the South Zone. And while claims from Paes and Picciani indicate that urban reform has led to further integration, spatial segregation<\/a> is all the more palpable as North and West Zone residents\u2014the majority of whom are Afro-Brazilian\u2014struggle to adapt to fewer options in public transport.<\/p>\n

At the onset of his final year as mayor, Paes will look to consolidate his legacy on Rio\u2019s urban development makeover. From an aesthetic point of view, urban transit looks sexier than ever. But with\u00a0Rio now experiencing\u00a0the\u00a0third worst traffic<\/a> globally, the jury is still out on whether the city’s\u00a0massive investments in\u00a0current\u00a0works and adjustments to transport\u00a0will produce true\u00a0quality of life improvements<\/a>\u00a0and integration<\/a> in the ‘Divided City<\/a>.’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas Set\u00a0with the task of hosting World Cup\u00a0Games and the 2016 Olympics in the span of two years, Rio de Janeiro’s Mayor\u00a0Eduardo Paes has invested billions of reais in a wide range […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":25048,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1736,1288,335,1869,1329],"tags":[1051,67,606,1864,1825,150,1261,32,272,506,203,1870,608,545,37,5,148,144,409,124,1189,1402,421,156,200,1868,21],"writer":[1863],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-25043","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-1736","8":"category-highlight","9":"category-policies","10":"category-transit","11":"category-by-international-observers","12":"tag-divided-city","13":"tag-botafogo","14":"tag-brt","15":"tag-bus","16":"tag-bus-transport","17":"tag-cable-car","18":"tag-central-rio","19":"tag-complexo-do-alemao","20":"tag-mayor-eduardo-paes","21":"tag-exclusion","22":"tag-inequality","23":"tag-light-rail","24":"tag-metro","25":"tag-mobility","26":"tag-north-zone","27":"tag-olympics","28":"tag-port-region","29":"tag-morro-da-providencia","30":"tag-public-transportation","31":"tag-race","32":"tag-racism","33":"tag-legacy","34":"tag-segregation","35":"tag-south-zone","36":"tag-transportation","37":"tag-vargem-grande","38":"tag-west-zone","39":"writer-sam-salvesen"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25043"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=25043"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=25043"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=25043"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=25043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}