Training refreshes 18 bus drivers.
Key passenger complaints will be conveyed to drivers during the retraining process; courses are a partnership between the Department of Transportation, companies, and Rio Ônibus; all 18 drivers will be trained; traffic realities and interaction with the public are the two central themes; by the end of November, 7,5 drivers will have already completed the program.
247 - With ongoing investments of around R$ 5,65 billion in the transportation infrastructure of the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, the city government has just launched a program that aims to train all 18 bus drivers in the capital by the end of the first half of 2014.
The program was developed in partnership with companies in the sector and Rio Ônibus, the entity that coordinates private public transportation companies. The intention is to improve the relationship between drivers and the public and to expand safety procedures and traffic behavior among them. Officially, it is called the Monitoring and Control Program for the Conduct of Passenger Bus Drivers in the City of Rio de Janeiro. It complies with decree 37.083 of Mayor Eduardo Paes.
The program is divided into two blocks. In the first, groups of drivers will participate in activities aimed at discussing the reality of traffic and the professionals, and at building new scenarios to improve coexistence with passengers.
In the second phase, the main user complaints submitted to the 1746 Customer Service Center of the Rio de Janeiro City Hall and to the Customer Relationship Center (CRC) of Fetranspor will be discussed. By November of this year, 7.500 drivers will be trained. The expectation is that, by the end of the first half of 2014, all 18 drivers will have been trained.
The main innovation of the training is the creation of a code of conduct developed by traffic education specialists with the support and participation of bus drivers from the four consortia: Internorte, Intersul, Santa Cruz, and Transcarioca. The work will be submitted to the SMTR (Municipal Secretariat of Transport) for evaluation and subsequently made available to other transport professionals operating the system. The code of conduct is expected to be launched in mid-2014.
"We are going to build a new culture in traffic in Rio de Janeiro, valuing bus drivers and inviting the population to closely follow this process," says Lélis Marcos Teixeira, president of Rio Ônibus.
"The Rio de Janeiro City Hall is investing R$ 5,65 billion in transportation infrastructure in Rio de Janeiro. With the rationalization of public transportation, through the BRS and BRT corridors and feeder lines, we will have a future with better working conditions for bus drivers, as well as comfort and quality for system users. Professional development and qualification are fundamental to this," says the Municipal Secretary of Transportation, Carlos Roberto Osorio.