Rio Opens Transit Card Purchasing - Rio Roundup

(ATR) Tourists planning to use public transportation during the 2016 Olympic Games can begin purchasing transit cards.

The city of Rio de Janeiro launched an online portal to purchase the Olympic RioCard here, which will be valid on city buses, bus-rapid transit, metro, and commuter trains. Use of the Transolimpica BRT and the metro line 4 can only be achieved through the Olympic RioCard.

Physical sales of the RioCards will not begin until July 15, but both Brazilian and international consumers can purchase their cards online starting today and have them delivered.

Consumers can purchase one, three, and seven days fixed fares on the cards. One day costs $7.36, three days costs $20.61, and seven days costs $47.10. Requests for clarification from the municipal transportation secretary to whether tourists can reload cards after the fares expired were not returned.

The RioCard is only valid from August 1 to September 18, the period comprising the Olympics and Paralympics. After the Games, consumers can keep their cards and refill them to use with pre-Games transport rates.

Rio State Receives Government Bailout

The Federal Government of Brazil will send $850 million to bail out the State of Rio de Janeiro.

The money will be used to fund security forces for the Olympic Games as well as pay state police officers, who reportedly have had their overtime payments deferred for six months.

In a statement yesterday, after the federal government reached a decision, Minster of Justice, Alexandre de Moraes said "we [now] have all the necessary preventive measures to ensure security" for the Olympic Games.

Security for the Olympics is the responsibility of the Rio state government, along with the Extraordinary Secretary of Security for Large Events. The security plan for the Games was approved by all stakeholders earlier this month, but the recent collapse of the state government’s finances has cast doubt on the government’s ability to fund the necessary measures.

Eventually, the state government declared a "public state of calamity in financial management," to begin working with the federal government on a bailout.

Two sets of athletes and para-athletes were robbed while training in the past month in Rio de Janeiro, sparking security fears. Still, organizers say that a robust security plan is in place to protect athletes and spectators during the Games.

The Olympic Games will begin in 43 days on August 5.

Olympic City Cold Spell

Weather in the Olympic city has been quite cold the past week.

Temperatures have routinely dropped below 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) coupled with rain, making for an unpleasant time for many Cariocas.

Fear not, experts say that the weather during the Olympic Games will be much hotter and drier, to the delight of fans and tourists.

Written by Aaron Bauer in Rio de Janeiro

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