Rio celebrates World Car-free Day with bike tour

Rio's Municipal Secretariat for the Environment  prepared a special event this Sunday (Sep 20) to celebrate the World Car-free Day: a bike tour through Aterro do Flamengo, or Flamengo Park, one of the city's most famous landmarks. The goal is to raise awareness about two major city problems: traffic jams and poor air quality.

In addition to the bike ride, athletes will be invited to perform extreme bike stunts. There will also be stands with workshops on environmental education, and activities for children, with playgrounds and games. According to Undersecretary for the Environment Altamirando Moraes, the idea is to encourage the population to make a more environmentally friendly use of cars.

“We're urging people to leave their cars at home on this day and come celebrate with us. We want to warn people about the negative effects of the excessive amount of cars on the streets, with high levels of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere and contributing to climate changes,” he said.

Student Matheus Vasconcelos, 21, who often rides his bike downtown to work, thinks discouraging people from driving a great initiative. “But the trains, the subway, and the buses should be better. If the government provided high-quality and more comfortable public transportation, people would definitely leave their cars at home. Cars cost money, but a lot of people would rather pay more than having to wait for overcrowded transport,” he remarked.

Created in 1997, the World Car-free Day, celebrated on September 22, became a global sensation. The city of Rio de Janeiro joined the initiative in 2004. Ever since then, city authorities have promoted activities aimed at educating the population about the importance of alternative transport.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira

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