BRAZIL:
Discovering Bus Travel
By Fabiana Frayssinet
SAO PAULO, (IPS) -
Brazil’s air crisis is
changing the look of the
crowds in bus stations
in large cities like Rio
de Janeiro and Sao
Paulo. Many well-heeled
Brazilians are opting,
for the first time, to
travel by bus in order
to avoid the mounting
delays in airports and,
in some cases, a new
fear of flying.
Visibly nervous and with
a slightly disdainful
look on her face, a
tall, slender blonde
woman in designer
clothes and with the
latest hairstyle and
gold and leather
accessories approaches a
bus belonging to the
Viacao 1001 company in
the Sao Paulo station
and hands her luggage
over to the porter.
Her expensive suitcases,
clearly designed for air
travel, are much less
appropriate for the
six-hour ride to Rio de
Janeiro. More
comfortable travelling
clothes and lower heels
would also be more
suitable.
She somewhat
apprehensively asks her
elegant travelling
companion, "And now what
do we have to do?" He
tells her to stand in
line to get on the bus,
and to give the
conductor her ticket and
show him her identity
document.
The ticket taker hands
her a plaid flannel
blanket and a little bag
with granola bars, candy
and different kinds of
crackers and cookies.
"What's this?" she asks.
"The ‘lanchinho’ (snack)
for the trip, ma’am," he
responds.
"Oh, we're going to have
a little party on
board!" she comments, a
little more
enthusiastically.
Her companion talks
about their wise
decision not to catch a
plane at Congonhas, the
aging, congested airport
in the middle of Sao
Paulo, to travel to Rio
de Janeiro this time
around.
And although the trip by
bus will take six hours,
he continues, they
didn’t have to reach the
airport one hour ahead
of the flight, and she
will be able to rest
more comfortably in her
reclining bus seat than
in the tight space in
economy class on the
plane.
If they had taken the
flight to Rio, which
lasts less than an hour,
"with the chaos in the
airports, we would still
be waiting there," and
the entire process would
take longer than the bus
trip, he argues.
As she walks down the
aisle and settles into
her seat with a certain
air of resignation, she
studies her fellow
passengers with
curiosity.
Reports by the Rio de
Janeiro central bus
station say bus travel
between Rio, Sao Paulo
and Belo Horizonte has
increased 30 percent.
According to the Viacao
1001 company, since the
Jul. 17 crash of the TAM
airline plane in which
at least 200 people died
at the Congonhas
airport, ticket sales
for first class seats in
the bus company have
grown 17 percent.
And at a much more
attractive price: just
68 dollars round-trip --
nearly four times less
than the cost of an air
ticket.
In a survey carried out
in July in seven large
cities around the
country by the Getulio
Vargas Foundation, 38
percent of respondents
said they would use
their car when they went
on vacation, while 37
percent said they would
travel by plane. A month
earlier, just 25.3
percent said they would
go by car.
This reporter forms part
of these statistics: To
return to Rio after
covering the TAM
accident, the option
chosen was the bus, with
its "lanchinho" and the
charms of travelling by
highway.
However, road transport
is not the safest, as
pilot Pedro Camacho,
flight security director
for the National Pilots
Union, points out,
citing the well-known
figures that show that
airplane accidents occur
much less frequently
than traffic accidents.
But there is no turning
back in the debate on
alternatives to air
travel, which has drawn
such criticism in the
last year or more of
flight delays, and more
recently with the latest
tragedy.
Air travel in Brazil has
grown at an average of
12 percent a year since
2004, a rate that has
far outstripped the
upgrading of airport
infrastructure and the
training of new air
controllers.
Around 19 million
travellers a year use
Congonhas, an airport
that was designed to
serve 10 million people
a year.
According to Camacho, an
accident like the Jul.
17 crash could have been
avoided if the main
runway at Congonhas had
a safety margin. But
that is impossible, "at
least in longitudinal
terms," because the
airport is in the middle
of a city, he told IPS.
To overcome these
shortcomings, the
federal and state
governments are studying
the construction of
subway lines connecting
the state capitals with
more distant airports --
like the Tom Jobim in
Rio de Janeiro and
Guarulhos in Sao Paulo
-- or other
alternatives, like
high-speed trains.
Meanwhile, the Federal
University of Rio de
Janeiro graduate studies
coordinating committee (COPPE)
has proposed other
alternative
technologies, like a
magnetic levitation
(maglev) train similar
to the ones currently
used in countries like
Germany and Japan.
COPPE is developing a
new maglev prototype
that would be "a third
generation magnetic
levitation transport
system," in which
vehicles are suspended
and guided by magnetic
forces, and which reduce
friction, researcher
Eduardo Goncalves David
told IPS.
A maglev train would
make the trip between
Rio and Sao Paulo in
just an hour and a half
-- only 50 minutes more
than the trip by plane,
without taking into
account airport waiting
times, said David.
While a traditional
high-speed train cannot
climb steep gradients
and has a minimum curve
radius of 2,000 metres,
maglev trains can climb
a 15-degree gradient and
"because their minimum
curve radius is just 300
metres, it is an ideal
transport system for
mountainous areas like
the ones that lie
between Rio de Janeiro
and Sao Paulo," he said.
Another advantage is
that the brakes of
maglev trains generate
electric power on
descent that can be
reused or sold to the
grid.
"Besides, they do not
wear out wheels or
tracks, and maintenance
costs are also lower,"
said the expert.
Additional benefits
would be a reduction of
traffic accidents on the
roads as well as gas
savings, good for both
the economy and the
environment.
"On the Rio-Sao Paulo
air bridge, each
passenger produces 98 kg
of carbon dioxide; by
car, 26 kg; and by bus,
13 kg, compared to just
two kg in a maglev
train," said David,
referring to each
transportation method’s
contribution to global
warming.
According to COPPE, Rio
and Sao Paulo could be
connected by maglev
trains within six years,
at a cost of 5.26
million dollars,
compared to 9.5 million
for a high-speed train.
"We would be using a
technology of the
future, rather than
staking our bets on the
past," stressed David.
Far removed from such
discussions, our new
passenger wakes up and
stretches in her
reclining bus seat.
The bus has been
travelling for four
hours and stops in
Resende, which is within
the borders of the state
of Rio de Janeiro, at a
highway rest stop where
travellers can buy food
and crafts.
The blonde woman says
she is "happy shopping,"
as she looks with
delight at the candy,
organic juices and
beverages blessed at the
Shrine of Our Lady of
Aparecida, ceramic
crafts by Guarani
Indians living in the
area, "cachaça"
(traditional Brazilian
sugar cane brandy), and
somewhat "tacky" local
souvenirs.
"I love this trip," she
gushes as she fills her
shopping basket. |
