There are so many different modes of transportation here and every mode seems so common and frequently used. Yesterday alone we traveled by bus, metro, boat, and foot. Throughout the week we have also traveled by taxi, cable car, and of course by plane. Today we added train to our list after visiting Cristo Redentor. Other modes of transportation I have noticed have been car, bicycle, skateboard/penny board, and tons of motorcycles. It’s interesting to see the differences between here and Columbus or America in general; in America the pedestrians typically have the right-of-way even if they don’t ACTUALLY have the right-of-way. Cars and buses are always looking out for pedestrians in the U.S. Here it is quite the opposite. Our tour guide Vanessa told us on the first day to be extra cautious when using crosswalks because the drivers do not care for pedestrians, in fact they “treat us as bowling pins.”
The buses are something special to take note of, I can’t quite get over how fast the bus drivers make turns, and how confident the drivers are to fit down streets so narrow I never would’ve imagined possible.
One of my favorite things I’ve noticed about this city is the abundance/normality of VW hippie vans. That is my dream car to have during my 20s and it’s odd to see so many of them here compared to America, even many of the construction/commercial trucks are VW. I’ve also enjoyed watching the flow of traffic. It seems everyone is in a rush and cuts other people off, but since everyone is on that same page it feels like drivers are looking out for eachother while trying to cut eachother off so it works just fine. I probably wouldn’t be very confident driving through here, though..
The gas stations along Ipanema Beach are just a few pumps placed in the middle divider between the two directions of traffic, so cars can simply pull off, fill up, and continue on. I think this is a very efficient plan especially for a street as busy as the one off of Ipanema. I’ve seen this in a few other areas of the city.
Now all I need to do is find a nice Brazilian to give me a ride through the city on their motorcycle! (Just kidding)
Ana, this is a really cool post! I completely agree with what you said about the drivers. Because they are all crazy, they all have to be crazy to stay alive on the road. Also I have noticed that nobody here is anywhere near their phone when they’re driving. So, atleast they’re safer drivers here than in America, in that regard.
Having lived in Japan, I have used many forms of mass transit. All I can say is Japan has spoiled me when it comes to trains and busses. So everything else seems just a bit less. However, their bus system where they portion off part of the road is very efficient. Since it would be tough to build a train in those parts, they just build a divider and say “bus only”. It’s a gray way of keeping the bus moving sans-traffic.
Ana, I really like your post. Transportation is an important aspect of a city. It highly related to people’s daily life. And I think one of the reasons that Rio has so many motorcycles is the topography. Rio is built near mountains and the bay. The roadways are built on the rolling topography. Motorcycle is a good choice for people who is living here. Just like Chongqing, China. It is also a city built near several mountains, so nobody there rides bicycles and people are more tend to use public transportation.
Speaking of public transportation, I like your metaphor of bowling pins! It is really like that. Some buses does not slow down even when they are approaching a red light… so even we are facing a green light, we do not know if we could cross the street, it looks so scary.
Another thing that the guide Vanessa told us is the taxi issue. There are lots of provide owned taxi running in the city and they all look like the ones that belong to companies. They usually charging more money than the company owned ones. It is natural that this happening in a city known for tourism. But I think it is better if the government can take some measures to regulate them. The issue wouldn’t be resolved in a short term, but it will at least enhance Rio’s city image in some degree.
Here’s your ride. I saw this “fine” piece of machine at a super sketchy gas station in a super sketchy town in Alabama two years ago while driving to Florida. The photo really has nothing to do with the trip but it makes me think about how much I have done on my spring breaks, especially the trips to London and Rio. I loved both trips although they are dramatically different from each other. London was a much more classy, educated, and developed city and there were much more to see. Just the fact that London had hundreds of churches designed by tons of famous architects such as Wren, Hawksmore, would make Rio’s antique architecture look bad. Also London has much more history to look at and it’s contemporary architecture is more elaborated since its economy is better.
However, I have to say Rio is much more fun than London, at least to me. I didn’t speak a word of Portuguese and I was able to start a conversation with people at the end of the trip.(thanks, Vanesa) Rio is more friendly and happy too. London gave me a very cold sense in terms of human interactions; Rio, on the other hand, was very warm and welcoming. You still have fun and get a good laugh at things even when you don’t understand 90% of what people are saying in Rio. I gotta say though, it’s hard to live in a country when you don’t speak the language. I guess that’s when “voce fala englis?” comes in handy…