Busing around Rio

The public transportation system in Rio de Janeiro has been amazing. A well organized system of buses and metros has gotten everywhere we needed to go, and quickly. The Metro was very clean and punctual. I think the metro system is the only punctual thing in Rio =) During the week of Carnaval, the Metro ran 24 hours a day, with 10 minutes between trains. The Metro stations were all well marked, and there were no bums at the stations (unlike my old Garnett station in Atlanta).

The bus rides were… well complete mayham. The buses went everywhere, and they were all well marked, however, the drivers were crazy. Maybe like a rollercoaster… no, rollarcoasters don’t stop fast enough. Image giving a 5 year old the wheel, jerking the wheel side to side, -beep -beep slamming on the gas, -beep beep slamming on the brake -beep beep. Either the gas pedal or brake pedal was always to the floor. There should just have two buttons on the steering wheel: full speed ahead, and immediate stop. But that made the bus rides a fun experience. At times the bus rides were challenging. (e.g. When you have 50 pounds on your back) To add to the carnage, when we entered the buses, there was a cashier sitting on a chair that collected the bus fare. Once you paid, you proceeded through a revolving gate, much like the gates at amusement parks, the problem was, you had to push the gate forward to go through it, the same time the bus was blasting off, or screeching to a halt. Which often resulted in a Gringo (me) being shot down the aisle of the bus like a torpedo, into the nearest solid object (person, seat, rail, or piece of luggage). Every moment was always exciting, and always a workout.
Every bus ride was definitely worth the $1.50 (USD) fare.