As part of Rio’s preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games, SETRANS, with support from the World Bank developed several sustainable transport initiatives to improve urban mobility conditions and reduce the need to use private cars. One of them was to encourage SuperVia, the train concessionaire, to build cycle hubs at six train stations in the periphery, with the aim of facilitating bike + train integration. Three years later, SETRANS managed to secure additional funding to develop a bicycle programme to promote cycling.
Our project team developed a programme that could facilitate and encourage the use of bicycles as part of rail passengers daily commute, as well as to promote bikes as an economic, health and wellbeing tool for the population. The programme aims to be implemented in the existing cycle hubs of the following train stations: Japeri, Engenheiro Pedreira, Santa Cruz, Bangu, Realengo and Saracuruna.
To develop the programme, our team undertook a variety of focus groups, technical site visits, secondary data review and over 2,400 quantitative surveys including stated preference exercises. These helped provide a better understanding of the local context and the data collected enabled the development of a model to estimate the programme´s future demand.
Successes and outcomes
The project outcomes included:
- An integrated bike + train programme including the technical, legal and operational requirements for its implementation and successful operation;
- A business case with options for the programme´s sustainability for a six-month pilot and two-year operational period;
- Complementary measures which included: an implementation and monitoring plan, communication and marketing strategy; and characteristics and functionalities of the programme´s bikes, including the evaluation of the adequacy of SETRANS´s technical specifications.
The implementation of the programme was put on-hold due to a political crisis in Rio de Janeiro, however it is expected to be implemented in 2018.