Rio's public transport transformation may be biggest legacy of Olympics

RIO DE JANEIRO — The impact on roadway traffic and transportation infrastructure, in the notoriously congested city of Rio de Janeiro, might well be one of the biggest legacies of the 2016 Olympic Games, The Rio Times reported.

The biggest public transportation impact on the West Zone of the city will be caused by the three bus rapid transit (BRT) lines. One of the lines, the Transolimpica, will reduce traveling time from two hours between the neighborhoods of Recreio and Deodoro to just thirty minutes, according to the report.

Within Centro, the financial heart of the city, the two biggest changes in transportation are the destruction of the Perimetral highway and the introduction of a light rail tram, The Rio Times said.

“A lot of what is for the Olympics: the BRT, the metro expansion, the demolition of the Perimetral, are things the city asked for for a long time and the Olympics helped a lot in this process," Rio Mayor Eduard Paes told The Rio Times. For the full story, click here.