CTS-Brasil has launched a new website available in both Portuguese and Spanish, offering information about the center, its mission, strategies, activities, and supporters. The website will soon be available in English.

CTS-Brasil, founded by EMBARQ in 2005 to alleviate the problems of congestion and air pollution plaguing Porto Alegre, Brazil, is ramping up operations and expanding its capacity to react to new developments in Porto Alegre and other parts of South America. To date, one of CTS-Brasil’s most important achievements is the development of the EMBARQ BRT-Simulator, a computerized model that allows transport planners to choose the most economically responsible transport options before undertaking a project.

Currently CTS-Brasil is conducting an emissions inventory, measuring atmospheric pollutants inside Porto Alegre’s buses and bus stations. Commuters’ exposure to pollutants like particulate matter is a leading cause of respiratory illnesses like bronchitis and asthma. The inventory now underway will provide a baseline for reducing emissions from buses and improving the health of commuters, bus drivers, and other people who live and work near the street.

CTS-Brasil is also undertaking a study of commuter patterns in Curitiba, Brazil, the city renowned for pioneering Bus Rapid Transit in the 1970s, to make that city’s transportation system more effective. In addition, CTS-Brasil is developing a relationship with Arequipa, Peru to create a Bus Rapid Transit System and revitalize Arequipa’s historic downtown.

For more information about CTS-Brasil