Friday, October 25, 2013

Eric's Commute to Work by Eric


So many of you have heard the entire family moved to Sao Paulo Brazil for an expat assignment with my employer. It's been an exciting experience to say the least. We are loving the adventure!!

For those of you wanting some first hand info on commuting in Brazil, I wanted to share the "secret sauce" of getting around Sao Paulo. 

Our condo is a 30 minute walk to my office. 

My options are: 

1. Walk to work - 30minutes in the morning and evening. 
2. Drive to work - 10minutes in the morning / anywhere from 25minutes to 1hour plus in the evening. Don't even ask about traffic in the rain 



3. Bike to work - 15 minutes in the morning / 15 minutes in the evening. 

Banco Itau has this Bike Sampa bike share program. There are stations all over the city. You simply unlock a particular bike with your smartphone and return it to a station of your choice. The first 30 minutes are free. Thereafter it is R$5 or ~ USD $2.50 for each subsequent 30 minutes. 

Hence, I borrow a Bike Sampa bike free of charge every morning and evening to commute to and from work. Nice on the wallet, good for the heart. Works all the way around. 

Take it from a "local". Bike Sampa is the way to go! 

Only downside....risking my life sharing the roads with the fearless taxi drivers here in Sao Paulo 




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