Traffic congestion in Rio and São Paulo costs R$ 98 billion.

Alana Gandra, from Agência Brasil - Traffic congestion recorded in the metropolitan regions of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo generated an economic cost of R$ 98 billion last year, according to a technical study released today (28) by the Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Firjan).

The calculation takes into account the unrealized production loss and the extra fuel costs. The cost of mobility is equivalent to 2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP, the sum of goods and wealth generated by the country) last year, economist Riley Rodrigues, a specialist in industrial competitiveness and investments at the Firjan System, told Agência Brasil.

In the case of the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area, the average time lost per day in traffic jams reached 130 km, resulting in an economic loss of R$ 29 billion in 2013, or the equivalent of 8,2% of the metropolitan GDP. In the São Paulo metropolitan area, traffic jams totaled an average of 300 km per day last year, costing R$ 69,4 billion, which corresponded to 7,8% of the metropolitan GDP.

The situation could worsen if appropriate measures are not taken, the study points out. Rodrigues reported that when observing the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area, it is clear that the cost of congestion could reach R$ 40 billion in 2022, with a daily extension of 182 km, while in São Paulo congestion could reach 357 km/day in the same period, with an equivalent cost of R$ 120 billion.

Riley Rodrigues stated that in Rio de Janeiro, 23,4 million trips are made daily, of which 7,1 million are on foot or by bicycle. In São Paulo, there are 43,8 million trips per day, with 14,3 million on foot or by bicycle. The remainder is made by motorized transport (mainly buses, trains, subways, taxis, cars, and motorcycles). He emphasized that "São Paulo has a much higher demand, stemming from a larger population."

Since São Paulo's economy is stronger, the economist indicated that demand is higher and, therefore, investments in mobility in the metropolitan region end up not having an impact on reducing congestion: "They reduce the rate of congestion growth, which grows more slowly, but it doesn't reverse the curve and start to decrease. Therefore, you have increasing congestion and a cost associated with this traffic jam, because the demand is very high."

In the case of Rio de Janeiro, since demand is much lower, Firjan projects a drop in congestion costs from R$29 billion to R$25 billion in 2014 and 2015. However, from 2016 onwards, the upward trend resumes, "unless there is investment in mass transit and changes in mobility flows," Rodrigues pointed out. Since there is no new action plan to expand the coverage of the mass transit system in Rio, "with economic growth and population increase, the demand for mobility grows."

Since most people travel to the same place at the same time, and motorized transport is still the main form of demand, congestion ends up increasing. The solution, the economist assured, is to increase mass transit and alter the flow of mobility. Where there is an imbalance between the supply of housing and employment, the solution is to create options for people to start working closer to their homes. To do this, it is necessary to bring urban infrastructure closer to where people live. This reduces commuting.

"By doing this, I distribute trips throughout the metropolitan region; I stop sending everyone in the same direction at the same time," he said. According to Rodrigues, this has a long-term impact on mobility. "I greatly improve mobility in a planned way, with rational densification of regions, not to mention that, by doing this, I also encourage the development of areas that are currently depressed, because I am incentivizing investment in areas that currently do not have much supply," he explained, and reiterated that integrated planning is the solution for several issues.