Optibus wins bid for Rio de Janeiro’s BRT system

Optibus has been selected to supply the planning and scheduling software for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the second largest city in the country.

The public transport operator “Mobi Rio chose Optibus through a bidding process involving local and international companies, and which saw the Optibus software platform ranked highest in terms of its technical and commercial capabilities”, Optibus announces.

Optibus win tender for planning software in Rio de Janeiro BRT

Rio de Janeiro’s Bus Rapid Transit system was inaugurated in 2012 with the opening of the TransOeste corridor. Two additional corridors – the TransCarioca and the TransOlímpica, which was designed to support the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio – were added in the following years, Optibus sums up. In 2023, the fourth corridor of the BRT system, TransBrasil, will be inaugurated.

Optibus’ end-to-end software platform will be helping to improve services for the system’s 255,000 daily passengers and optimize the efficiency of the entire network, which currently spans more than 120 kilometers and 125 stations and 8 terminals.

Mobi Rio assumed the management of Rio’s BRT in February 2022 and “is tasked with overseeing the network at a time of transformation and growth. Seventy eight bus stations have been renovated or remodeled since last year. The construction of the TransBrasil corridor is underway and will expand the network’s coverage across an extra 32 kilometers. The BRT’s vehicle fleet is set to grow dramatically with Mobi-Rio’s plans to add 291 new vehicles across the network by March 2023. Rio de Janeiro’s City Hall is seeking to expand the fleet even more by bringing in an additional 270 buses by February 2024″, still Optibus says.

Rio de Janeiro expands BRT system and rely on Optibus

Optibus provides a cloud-native solution for public transportation planning and operations, powered by artificial intelligence and optimization algorithms. In line with Mobi Rio’s ambitious expansion and improvement plans for the Rio de Janeiro BRT, Optibus enables its platform users to predict the fulfillment of each trip, leading to better services and passenger experience, and to become more agile in adapting plans, including for large and special events, which will support the complex operation of Rio’s BRT.

“Optibus is committed to making public transportation more efficient, more attractive to passengers, and more sustainable. Through our platform, we will help Rio’s BRT achieve these and other goals, including increasing efficiency and service quality, improving access to transport, reducing emissions, optimizing costs and resources, and reducing manual work. By modernizing operations, we can expect to see improved experiences for passengers and the people who operate public transportation,” said Victor Celada, Brazil Regional Director for Optibus.