Sao Paulo is not only the largest city in Brazil but it is also one of the top countries in the world with the worst traffic. There is a population of about 18 million people with about 6.3 million cars 650,000 motor cycles, 35,000 taxis and 17,000 busses. To make things worse there are also 1,000 new cars added a day. There have been traffic jams stretching up to 293 km of traffic. Naturally, with numbers like these there is bound to be some traffic. However, there are also 19,000 trucks that pass through Sao Paulo every day. These trucks cause damage to roads and therefore, cause a chain of reaction ending in increased traffic.
Of course, the government of Brazil has made effort to help reduce traffic congestion. They have introduced fast-lane buss systems. Some of which are even connected to the metro. Road space rationing is also present; each car has to be kept off the street during rush hour one day each week. Certain license numbers are restricted from using the roads during peak times. There is an estimated 6 million people that use the subway system; the government has spent $10 billion to expand the metro. Sao Paulo Brazil also has one of the highest rates of air traffic. They have provided helicopters for government officials and busy executives.
However, we have some suggestions that we believe would reduce the traffic even more. Firstly, air traffic should be made more accessible to a wider number/variance of people. We have worked out that it can cost up to $5,600 for a two way trip (hourly rate) on a helicopter (1,400 an hour and 350 for each take-off and landing). Our suggestion is for the government to subsidise the company (or another) ‘LRC-air taxi’. If the private company was subsidised then they could afford to reduce cost for customers. If the government does not want to subsidise the private air company then it would be then it could be beneficial to make it a public transportation. Another thing is the introduction of larger helicopters. If there are larger helicopters then more people could take one there for making it cost efficient.
Ring roads (“ring road, orbital motorway, beltway, circumferential highway, or loop highway is a road that encircles a town or city.”)
The introduction of road tolls may have high cost in the short term for the government. However, it has been proven to bring in high profit in the city of Dubai, UAE. Dubai has a population of 7.2 million and makes a profit of $800 million. In comparison, Sao Paulo has a population of 18 million meaning that there is a possibility of their profit being in the billions. This would not only discourage drivers from using main/busy roads but would also encourage them to use the ring roads. We also recommended the introduction of parking fees. This would not only bring revenue in to the government but would again, discourage drivers and therefore reduce traffic.
Another point to keep in mind is that the 19,000 trucks that pass through every day ruin the roads and therefore damning the infrastructure. With a poor infrastructure traffic is inevitable. Seeing as the trucks are partially to blame then it would make sense to tax the trucks (or companies providing the trucks). This tax could then be plowed back into the economy and put towards fixing roads etc.