Ferries making the Rio-Niterói crossing are overcrowded, with no hand sanitizer or soap in the restrooms.
Passengers traveling on ferries between the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Niterói have been complaining about overcrowding and unsanitary conditions on board since the state government suspended intercity bus travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. The state has at least 657 cases and 18 deaths due to the coronavirus.
Eduardo Miranda, Brasil de Fato | Rio de Janeiro (RJ) Passengers traveling on ferries between the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Niterói have been complaining about overcrowding and sanitary conditions on board since the state government suspended intercity bus travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. The concessionaire CCR Barcas has been exclusively operating the reduced passenger traffic between the two cities.
Last Thursday (26), CCR Barcas reported that it had disinfected vessels at stations and that it had installed containers with alcohol gel for passengers. But state deputy Flávio Serafini (Psol) stated, last Monday (30), that he had received several complaints about the operating conditions of the transport.
In your page on FacebookThe legislator explained that he decided to inspect the ferries after sending requests for clarification to the Health and Transportation Secretariats and to the State Agency for the Regulation of Publicly Granted Transportation Services (Agetransp), but receiving no response from the responsible bodies.
"Water transport is the only way workers have to travel between these municipalities. We were very concerned about the lack of hand sanitizer at the Araribóia station [in Niterói] and the lack of soap in the bathrooms, two fundamental agents in the fight against COVID-19," reported Serafini.
According to the congressman, the reduction in the frequency of ferry departures from Rio and Niterói caused further problems. According to the state decree, ferries now depart hourly from both cities, and transit is only permitted for essential service workers. In theory, this measure should leave the ferries less crowded to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
"There are problems with adherence to schedules and the occupancy of vessels, which we believe is higher than ideal to avoid crowding. We will make all necessary representations to the Health Surveillance, Agetransp and other involved bodies, so that measures to protect the population are respected at this time," declared Serafini.
Brasil de Fato reached out to CCR Barcas for clarification regarding the allegations, but received no response by the time this article was published.