From left to right: Elda Flores Arias (Communication Coordinator for the Director General for Mobility in Leon, Mexico), Edmundo Fornasari (President, RioCard), Carlos Maiolino (Sub-Secretary for Transport, Rio de Janeiro), Maya Emsden (Design Chief, LA Metro), Suzy Balloussier (Public Relations, Fetranspor).

Municipal transport leaders and communications coordinators from nine Brazilian cities attended a workshop, “Marketing BRT: How to Attract and Captivate Users,” to understand the importance of marketing, branding and communications for the successful planning and implementation of mass transit systems, particularly bus rapid transit (BRT).

The event was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the South America Convention Center on May 25-26. It was co-organized by EMBARQ Brasil and the Secretary of Transportation of Rio de Janeiro, and sponsored by Fetranspor, a federation of bus operators for the state of Rio de Janeiro. A representative from Fetranspor said the workshop was the best event the federation had ever sponsored.

During the workshop, EMBARQ launched a new publication,“From Here to There: A Creative Guide to Making Public Transport the Way to Go,” published in English and Portuguese, to help guide cities and public transit agencies in making mass transit a competitive and desirable alternative to private vehicles. The guidebook presents powerful BRT marketing case studies and generated a significant amount of national press coverage.

EMBARQ Brasil was the second center in the EMBARQ Network to host a marketing workshop. The first one was hosted by the Center for Sustainable Transport in Mexico (CTS-México) in June 2010 in Mexico City. The next communication and marketing seminar, "Talking Transit," is scheduled to be hosted by EMBARQ India.

Workshop participants included the following transport and communications experts:

• Alexandre Sansão Fontes, Municipal Secretary of Transport, Rio de Janeiro
• Affonso Nunes, Communication Coordinator, Municipal Secretary of Transport, Rio de Janeiro
• Lélis Marcos Teixeira, President, Fetranspor
• Suzy Balloussier, Public Relations, Fetranspor
• Toni Lindau, President, EMBARQ Brasil
• Rejane D. Fernandes, Strategic Relations & Development Director, EMBARQ Brasil
• Richard Katz, Communication Coordinator, EMBARQ Brasil

For more information about the sessions and event activities, visit www.marketingbrt.com.br.