Rio de Janeiro state government encourages the use of bicycles as a means of transportation
With a broad network of bicycle lanes – specially in the city of Rio -, the State of Rio de Janeiro will become part of a project to increase the use of bicycles as a means of transportation. Four cities in the State – Niterói, Duque de Caxias, Resende and Nova Iguaçu – will take part in the program created by the State Government for use of public bicycles.
With the system, users may get bicycles in stations by using cards, with a price established according to the time of use. The objective is to have an integration with the mass means of transportation, such as trains and buses.
The project is part of the plan “Rio – state of the bicycles”, which will have an amount of US$ 500 thousand from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Among other benefits, the use of bicycles as a means of transportation contributes for the reduction of the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere and the traffic jams on the streets.
The State Transportation Secretary, Júlio Lopes, believes that after the first phase, other city halls in the State will be interested in the project.