GETTING AROUND IN PORTO ALEGRE
As tough as it gets.
After years of easy credit and diminishing prices, the number of vehicles in the city has surged to a record. In the rush hours it may take long annoying minutes to drive a few miles.
Drivers in the city are mostly bad-natured and always competitive as if they were struggling to high score and reach a podium. Pedestrians are kind of quarrelsome and disrespectful too. It's not difficult to see little incidents and accidents occurring routinely over here.
While some boast we have good air-conditioned buses that take passengers everywhere, I guess the absence of a subway train doesn't pay off the advantages of such bus system.
Some time ago I was thinking about buying a bike to ride around but eventually I thought the risk of being run over is too high for the take.
What else could I bring up? Reckless motorcyclists? Confusing Traffic-Wardens(azuizinhos)? Ubiquitous-fast-noisy ambulances (saving lives, of course)? Long-lasting red lights? Holes in the streets? Absent traffic sing boards (did you ever notice many unaware drives take the wrong lane in my street because they don't know that the street is not a single lane from my building to Vasco da Gama Av. - there's no sign board to inform them)?
So, what's your experience in our traffic? How do you agree with me? To what extent things are really chaotic in our streets? Leave your thoughts.
2 comments:
yeah Daniel, you're right...our streets are really chaotic and both drivers and pedestrians are blamed. People don't leave their cars to take buses...it's risky, unconfortably and not practical. And if they don't take buses, let alone bikes. ok, ok, I'm saying that but you know that I take buses and ride a bike. However, someday I'll buy a car and cause to you, who already have a car, the same troubles that I've been facing! :-)
well, at least be a good driver then!
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