The 11th edition of the Reporting Microgrants, which is a partnership between Agência Pública and the Institute for Climate and Society, has selected five groups of students to investigate urban mobility in some Brazilian capitals. The results of this effort are now being seen, with the publication of three reports on the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) in Rio de Janeiro, written by João Vitor Costa. The first , published on July 8, shows that, while the upper classes are celebrating the reopening of bars in Leblon without masks, workers are being obliged to suffer agglomerations in the BRT during the pandemic.
On July 30, the second report reinforced the non-compliance (even over one year later) with promises made by the bus companies at the end of the intervention in the BRT. These include, for example, incomplete studies, lack of evidence of agreed investments, non-operational stations and buses out of circulation. The article is accompanied by infographics designed by Larissa Fernandes.
The third publication , on August 8, includes an interview with engineer Luiz Alfredo Salomão, who was responsible for the BRT intervention for six months. Information is provided about the reasons why attempts to organize the transport of Rio de Janeiro never achieve their objectives and also details of the prominent family relationships in the bus companies and in the presidency of the BRT.
