Only the crowded stretch of walk between the exit of the Autodrome and the entrance to the station took more than 2 hours. Ana Lourenço, a journalist from the Estadão, recounts a not at all happy experience
On August 10, a month before The citythe festival organization has asked the 100,000 fans who are expected to travel to the event each day to prioritize public transport, as reported in the report by Estadao:
Roberta Medina, daughter of the entrepreneur and director of the festival, explained that there will be no way for people to travel by car or other individual means. “They will stop at the blocks.” It will take you 8 minutes to walk from the nearest train station at Interlagos Racecourse to the concert venue. “Forget the idea of taking a taxi or the apps. If you want to be happy, take public transport,” Roberta reinforced.
The reality was different.
On the streets, traffic chaos and transport via apps at high altitudes. On the tracks, crowded. It’s not always easy to get around during music festivals St. Paul. Precisely to speed up and facilitate the entry of the public into the The citya bus and subway operation was created, in partnership with Through mobilityto try to change this scenario.
Even the organization of my departure, with an earlier departure than the rest of the public, worked almost perfectly, unlike those who started a little after me. But back was a real mess. On the first day of the festival, I used the semi-express line CPTM extensioncreated exclusively for the festival.
The options operate on the 8-Diamond and 9-Emerald lines. To get there I landed at the station Pines, on the yellow line of the subway and transferred to the train. The express, which costs R$40 (round trip) with only one stop at another station besides the final one, and the semi-espresso (R$15, round trip), which stops at seven strategic stations. Both involve pick-up and drop-off at the station. Trackabout 14 minutes walk from the festival entrance.
On the site, I bought the first time slot in advance, from 12:00 (there are options until 20:00). But even then the station was already full. In any case, it was easy to find the group that checked the file QR Codes of the ticket and distributed a bracelet for the return journey.
The train arrived at 12:03 and left shortly after a one-minute stop. 12:08 stopped at the second station, Villa Olympia, and boarding was allowed only in the first two carriages. The same was done for the next three seasons.
Despite repeated recommendations by officials for passengers to move to the last car of the train, where seats were also available, people crammed into the first few cars. Which messed up the internal flow a bit.
For me, in general, the journey was uneventful, despite the delay of the train – which arrived at its destination over 20 minutes later than expected. Additionally, few access tickets were offered to fans and many of them missed the first few shows of the day. Those who used the following schedules, however, reported crowded trains and even greater delays.
The ideal, therefore, is to take advantage of the early hours to guarantee entry with free time, even just to get in line.
But then I went to face the return…
A flood of people left no doubt where to go to catch the train. However, no signs warned in advance what the queue was for the express, semi-express and normal transport. Only arriving almost at the entrance to the station did we discover this information, which made many people go back a few meters, to the back of the queue.
I exited the festival at 1.42am and was unable to enter until 2.20am. The forecast of the people in line I spoke to was 30 minutes. That is, the estimated few minutes turned into more than two hours. But I wasn’t so optimistic. Nothing was very clear. All the queues were huge and seemed to come together when you got to the station platform.
Unlike the departure, in which the times were established, the return took place from midnight. Therefore it was not possible to know at what time your means of transport would leave.
According to an employee of Via Mobilidade, who remained anonymous, there was a lack of organization and logistics to leave the festival. He himself encouraged me to take the regular train, which was faster than the semi-express. “Normal pops up every 10 minutes, that’s much faster.”
For those who left before the end of the last show, on the other hand, it was serene. But knowing I’d have to get up early the next day, I gave up waiting for my entry and requested a car via the app.
Another option offered by the festival was the bus, which departed from seven points in the city, every 20 minutes, and dropped off 300 meters from the entrance gate of the city of music. Valuables cost between R$10 and R$50, depending on the departure location chosen.
Carla Menezes, social media a Estadao who also followed the festival, queued for the bus at 1.14pm, but only arrived at the festival at 4.02pm. On the way back there wasn’t much signage as to where the boarding would be done. In Ibirapuera, one of the vehicles caught fire.
After hours of standing, in the rain and wind, the wear and tear on the audience was considerable. And finding such a disorganization only increased the bad feeling. The idea of having transport running at dawn is wonderful, but could have worked well if the logistics had been thought through to the size of the festival.
Even if this is not possible, I recommend you leave just before the end of the last show on the main stage to avoid the heavy flow of people. In any case, be prepared for queues and train delays.
OR Estadao contacted ViaMobilidade and the organization of the Municipality to find out about the delays and crowding of the trains, but still no response. The space remains open.
Source: Terra
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
