Scania Sending 200 Buses to Rio de Janeiro

Scania will be shipping 200 city buses to Rio de Janeiro as part of the city's effort to improve public transportation.

Now the first units of 200 Scania city buses will start to operate in the South Zone of the City of Rio de Janeiro. The buses will be part of the public transport system now being implemented in the Brazilian town.

“This delivery is a breakthrough for Scania’s concept of city buses that fulfills Rio de Janeiro’s and other cities’ requirements when developing efficient and passenger attractive public transport systems. I see a huge future potential. Upcoming major international sports events, like the Soccer World Cup 2014 and the Olympics in 2016 will further increase the demand of reliable and comfortable buses,” says Wilson Pereira, head of sales of Buses and Coaches at Scania Brasil.

The Scania city buses, which shall be operated by the Breda Rio Group, have been designed in order to improve urban mobility in the municipality. The vehicles brings a concept which is completely new in Rio de Janeiro when it comes to urban passenger transport, which is that of focusing on the maximum of comfort and accessibility.

The buses to be incorporated into the fleet are of the Scania K 230 4x2 model, with a length of 12.5 metres and a lowered floor, used to facilitate the entry and exit of the passengers. The vehicle has 35 seats and also space reserved for the transport of wheelchair users, and can also hold up to 47 standing passengers.

The public transport system in Rio (BRS, Bus Rapid Service), is an intelligent solution for urban transport in medium to large cities, using exclusive bus lanes for the circulation of vehicles, thereby connecting passengers with other transport modals in a quick and facilitated manner. The system also includes a better organisation of bus stops, adaptation of the size of the vehicles in operation, and other items.

The city of Rio de Janeiro already has three rapid transport lines in operation in the South Zone of the city, and this ensures a 40% reduction in travel times along the different routes. After implementation of the system, the average speed of trips in the region has almost doubled, from 13 km/h to 24 km/h. According to Rio de Janeiro City Hall, the city shall receive more than 20 BRS corridors in years to come.

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