Transportation

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Car insurance firm encourages citizens to avoid using cars and get on their bikes!

What is it?

Rio de Janeiro has 140 km of bicycle lanes – the largest network in Brazil. 290,000 people per day use these lanes, avoiding around 66,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. To help encourage this trend, an innovative program - initiated by an insurance company best known for car insurance (Sul America) - has created a partnership with the municipality to construct new bike parking racks and maintain existing racks – a total of 4,200 racks.

How does it work?

In 1991, Rio installed its first 27 km of bike lanes. Today, the city has 157 km of bike paths and plans to build an additional 40 km. The bicycle is an integral part of the city’s Transport Master Plan and the city is developing a Bicycle Master Plan to try and continually increase user numbers and improve linkages to other public transport infrastructure.

The number of trips by bicycle in Rio’s metropolitan region increased 380% from 1994 to 2004, and in 2004, represented 2% of the total of trips made within the municipality, and 3.2 % in the metropolitan region. In some regions of the city, the bicycle accounts for 5, 6 and even 8.7 % of trips made.

The construction of new bike parking racks and improvement of existing facilities is one mechanism to assist the growth of cycling. In this program, Sul America pays for the cost of implementing new bike racks and maintaining new ones in exchange for the right to advertise on the bike racks.

Key results

• 66,000 tCO2 avoided by increased use of cycling*
• Expansion of infrastructure and improvement maintenance and security

*This calculation is made using a per-capita CO2 avoidance of 0.946 kgCO2/per person. This is a preliminary estimate using the average per capita emissions of a bus trip in Rio, and it is conservative, considering that a considerable portion of these cyclists would have used automobiles rather than buses.

Next steps

• Additional bicycle parking will be implemented at public transport stations and major destinations, such as parks and beaches.
• Local bicycle networks are being planned around public transport stations and are being included in new urban revitalization, road infrastructure and public transport projects.
• Implementation of campaigns to encourage bicycle use and safety, including campaigns by Sul America and the municipal government of Rio de Janeiro, vis-#00E0;-vis advertisements on TV, on posters, in newspapers, magazines, etc.
• The municipality plans to develop a Bicycle Master Plan for the entire city, beginning with those areas where bicycle use is highest.
• The city aims to double the number of cycle lanes.

Application

• Bicycles can be a form of transportation for any large city.
• Maintenance of cycling infrastructure is crucial, as cyclists must be kept satisfied and happy so that they continue riding bicycles.
• Rio’s bicycle program: http://www.rio.rj.gov.br/ipp/
• Sul America program: http://www.sulamerica.com.br/bicicletarios/default.asp