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Biogas Magazine | Edition 13 | 22
Rethinking curitiba’s urban mobility
T
he city of Curitiba in Brazil has a long history of sustainable development planning, and is responsible for creating concepts that helped shape the urban landscape, such as the creation of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). This is considered an urban mobility solution that redefined the adoption of wheel transportation modal, an idea pioneered by Curitiba. It has been spread and implemented in different cities worldwide, guaranteeing the capital of Paraná a seal for its innovativeness. However, in times when the consequences of climate change has proved to be a reality, there is a need for a new qualitative leap. Urban mobility is largely responsible for the emission of greenhouse gases in Curitiba: in the 2013 inventory statistics, it accounts for 72% of emissions. Curitiba’s institutional framework is strongly concerned with public transportation and environmental issues. There is an awareness regarding the need for coming up with disruptive proposals
in relation to the current model of public transport concession, as well as the logic behind the city’s mobility, in order to reduce emissions. The starting discussions point to the construction of a sustainable mobility system – Mobility as a Service (MaaS) – that is accessible on demand, and also combines shared mobility, autonomy and electrification with integrated systems for energy, public transportation and infrastructure. The current concession for public transportation in Curitiba expires in 2025; therefore, there are exactly six years left to develop a new, more sustainable model for mobility, and to create a favorable environment for its implementation. The current fleet consists of 1639 buses: 8.5% of this fleet is composed of Euro II vehicles, acquired between 1996 and 2003; 87.6% consists of Euro III vehicles, acquired from 2004 to 2011; and, from 2012 on, the Euro V vehicles were incorporated to the system, representing 3.9% of the fleet. The fleet also comprises 62 buses with
