BH creates special transportation network for Carnival

The biggest carnival in Belo Horizonte's history will require efficient management from the public authorities to meet the demand for transportation from revelers while minimizing the impact of traffic congestion. The expectation is that the streets will be occupied between this Friday (24) and Wednesday (1st), by 2,4 million people To deal with the challenges posed by the situation, the Belo Horizonte Transportation and Traffic Company (BHTrans) has created a special transportation network for these days.

Public transportation will not use either the weekday or Sunday/holiday timetables. A new schedule has been developed taking into account the need to reinforce lines that will take revelers to high-demand street parties, especially during the scheduled start and end times of the parades. Metro service will also be extended, with some stations open until 3:00 AM, and service will be reinforced through other means of transportation. bus rapid transit (BRT), which in the capital of Minas Gerais is known as Move.

According to Deusuite Matos, director of Regional Action and Operation at BHTrans, the transportation plan for Carnival took into account the problems experienced last year. At certain times, especially at night, when the street parties were ending, passenger demand was much higher than normal, and bus stops were crowded.

Another measure adopted this year, based on observations from 2016, is the creation of fixed detours for bus routes. "Last year, we had some planning problems. We were constantly chasing after the parade groups. As the parade closed off the roads, we had to divert traffic. Bus users were confused because their bus line was passing through a different place each time. Often, the route was supposed to be regular, but the parade groups are dynamic and ended up exceeding the planned schedule, forcing us to create new detours," recalls Deusuite Matos.

The solution found was to delimit the area where most of the street parties are concentrated, in the city center. Public transportation will not enter this area, and the bus lines that normally pass through it will adopt the nearest alternative routes. In this way, the detours will be fixed during the Carnival days. Approximately 150 bus stops will be deactivated, and signs will be posted at them informing users of the nearest location where they can board their bus.

The new routes will also be announced through notices inside the vehicles, as well as on the BHTrans website. On the other hand, revelers will need to pay attention to the... application Released by the Belo Horizonte City Hall, the app shows the bus routes that can provide access to each bloco (street party), but only registers the normal itinerary, without the changes. According to BHTrans (the city's transportation authority), due to the short timeframe, it was not possible to include the fixed detours in the app, but this is an idea that is already being worked on for next year.

In addition to municipal bus lines, the city of Belo Horizonte has signed a sponsorship agreement with the Ambev brewery, which stipulates that the company will provide 20 buses offering free transportation for revelers between the 25th and 28th. The service will operate from 11 am to 22 pm, with departures every 5 minutes from Avenida dos Andradas, in the Floresta neighborhood. The vehicles will circulate on roads in the south-central region.

Transit

Deusuite Matos points out that the app is useful not only for carnival-goers. "It also serves people who avoid carnival. If they want to get around the city, they can check if there are any large street parties on their route and figure out how to avoid them," he explains.

According to the director of BHTrans, some traffic delays are inevitable, as major thoroughfares will be closed. "People need to understand this. Carnival is a time to share public space. And often, there are more people in the street parties than people stuck in traffic. In any case, BHTrans is making every effort to minimize the impact, indicating alternative routes and detours," she adds.

Traffic management will be aided by the georeferencing system created by the Belo Horizonte City Hall. Installed at the Operations Center (COP-BH), it will provide a map listing the carnival blocks and various other information that will be shared by all agencies involved in the carnival, such as the Municipal Tourism Company (Belotur), the Military Police, the Fire Department, the Urban Cleaning Service (SLU), etc.

"We will have a systemic view of what is happening. If you have a parade on a certain street and intend to divert traffic to another route, you need to check if there is another parade happening there. With this system, it becomes easier because we see what is happening simultaneously," says Deusuite. Through georeferencing, it will also be possible to access images from 1,5 cameras spread throughout the city. The tool will help in deciding where to place traffic officers, optimizing human resources, since there are roads where monitoring will be done remotely. The system makes it easy to identify hospitals and health centers, whose access roads need to be preserved.

Another measure adopted by BHTrans is the release of rotating parking spaces without the need to use the large screen. Belo Horizonte has more than 21 rotating parking spaces, mostly in the south-central region, where a maximum stay of one or two hours must be respected, except on Sundays and holidays. During Carnival, however, this exception will be extended to Saturday and Monday. In this way, revelers can use the spaces without worrying about the time to remove their vehicle.