Rio's Integrated Transportation Works Well on First Day of Functioning
On the first day that Linha 4 (Line 4) of the metro was open to the Olympic public, transit was calm and fluid. Folha took the line all the way to the Olympic Park, leaving from Boulevand, in the Mauá square region (central) by VLT (light rail), metro and BRT (Rapid Bus System).
Passenger flow was heavy from mid-morning at stations and inside the vehicles, but there were no tussles or tumult and everybody seemed to know where they were going.
The rare complaints heard were related to the sale of the Olympic RioCard which permits access to the VLT.
The posters at sales locations didn't indicate that users had to pay a first-time fee of R$ 3 (US$ 1) for the card itself. The dispensers weren't making change nor allowing electronic payment, although at the Candelária station there was at least one employee giving instructions to passengers.
The Olympic RioCard is the only card that provides access to the exclusive lines for the Olympics themselves: Transolímpica BRT (between Deodoro and Recreio on Bandeirantes), Lote 0 BRT (between Alvorada Terminal and Jardim Oceânico station) and Metro Linha 4 (line 4).
Without the card, passengers can't transfer from the metro at Jardim Oceânico to the BRT, for example.
According to a metro employee, some users delayed the flow while trying to use a normal RioCard. A reporter saw some users being barred and instructed to buy specific tickets.
Even though he doesn't speak Portuguese, Toshiaki Fukuzaki, a 28-year-old Japanese said that it was easy to follow the signage to find the way to the Olympic Park. "Until now I haven't gotten lost", he said.
It's clear that the interconnected and organized transportation makes a difference in users' experience, independent of their language. This wasn't the experience that everyone who was at the Games had, however.
Victor Oliveira de Andrade, 39, an administrative assistant, has been planning for this moment since 2009 and didn't expect to be so stressed out by transportation.
"It took us an hour by bus from Del Castilho (northern zone) to get to the Botafogo metro. We weren't sure if we were in the right place and thought about going by taxi or Uber", he said, still breathless, as he settled into the wagon together with his companion, José dos Santos Neto, 50, an administrator.
Translated by LLOYD HARDER