I used to live in São Paulo and I moved in the exact same path the girl in the article. Up from the North Zone all the way across the city to the South Zone. Without traffic, during the night this would take me 30min but during a normal day it would take 1.5 to 2 hours to get to work and the way back was even worse. On Fridays it get's even worse as people tend to use cars so they can hang out after work.
I did that for 2 years and moved to Canada a year ago. I know the situation got a lot worse recently, although I can't tell why.
This is really a pity. São Paulo is really one of the most exciting and thriving cities I have ever been on. The nightlife is awesome and it's a great place to work. The traffic jams are by far the worst problem the city have.
I agree with the article that public transportation is a solution. We have a large subway system, it's not the longest of the world but it's the one with more passengers per mile, also known as the tuna can coefficient. Getting around using the bus or subways is often more painful than on a car.
If you ever go to São Paulo get a place near where you work. If you don't you will have a bad time.
I used to live in São Paulo and I moved in the exact same path the girl in the article
Looking at the distance marker on the lower left of the map, her route looks to be about 10 miles. A 2-hour commute means she's moving about 5 miles per hour. This does not make sense to me - why would she drive? Why does she not bicycle or possibly walk?
Why don't people start some sort of Safe Streets or Neighborhood Watch program? Take Back The Night? If there are really so many productive people in the city, can't they at least travel together in groups for protection?
It sounds as if the entire city has this problem in common, but nobody is interested in solving it, and most people view it as their own personal issue.
Is it more dangerous to walk somewhere, or to be stuck in traffic with your large asset? If crime is so bad, why do people feel safer in cars, if the car is constantly stuck in traffic? What's to stop a criminal from going up to a stopped car and mugging/kidnapping the driver?
Almost everyone in the city got robbed at least once while in their cars, but it's still safer than walking or biking. I got robbed once, in over 16 years I lived in the city. They stole just some bucks I had laying around and a cellphone.
You see a lot of people that share rides, but you have to live almost in the same street and work at almost the same place so it makes sense.
You could bike, but keep in mind that the city is very rainy, so it's not a solution for everyday. There are not many bike lanes in the city, and the few that exist are not on the most busy roads, so you actually have to bike way longer than 10 miles in that example. I would not bike in São Paulo on a day to day basis for that distance.
But robbers don't usually take cars, they rather go for wallets, watches and cellphones instead.
kidnaps are very common as well. São Paulo has what they call lightning kidnaps. The robber enters your car and makes you drive around the city cashing money out of ATMs and then they just leave. The banks have adapted to that, and if you take money from 2 different ATMs in a short spam the card will get blocked for a day or two. I was never kidnaped but I know at least 4 people who had.
> So people that work together but live a couple neighborhoods apart will just drive separately?
If someone lives a couple neighborhoods out of my way than no. That can easily add 30-40 minutes to my travel. So sorry pal but just can't do it. If it's on my way than sure it's possible. but otherwise it just doesn't work. The streets inside the neibourhoods are just as crowded as the highways and avenues or worse. And the city is just too much spread out. The chances of someone that works with you to live close by are slim in a city with over 11M people.
I did that for 2 years and moved to Canada a year ago. I know the situation got a lot worse recently, although I can't tell why.
This is really a pity. São Paulo is really one of the most exciting and thriving cities I have ever been on. The nightlife is awesome and it's a great place to work. The traffic jams are by far the worst problem the city have.
I agree with the article that public transportation is a solution. We have a large subway system, it's not the longest of the world but it's the one with more passengers per mile, also known as the tuna can coefficient. Getting around using the bus or subways is often more painful than on a car.
If you ever go to São Paulo get a place near where you work. If you don't you will have a bad time.