Exploring waterborne mobility in Rio de Janeiro

My role: Project Manager. I helped decide how seats and the onboard network should be allocated, followed the channel analysis, and organized the project so the team could execute it. The project stopped when the company could no longer provide the budget it had committed to the boat’s construction.

Arya explored an electric ferry connection between Santos Dumont Airport and Urca in Rio de Janeiro. The concept proposed space for 15 passengers and bicycles, with an estimated journey of around 20 minutes each way.

The proposal included local or remote operation and automation for repeated tasks. Solar panels on the vessel and docking infrastructure were considered as part of the charging setup. Environmental-monitoring capabilities were also proposed. These were design intentions, not verified operational outcomes.

Vision

The vision was to use Rio de Janeiro’s waterways as part of its urban transport network. The concept connected a familiar mode of travel with an exploration of electric propulsion and automation.

Challenge

Road congestion motivated the exploration of a route across Guanabara Bay. The project considered how a ferry service could connect with existing transport and accommodate passengers and bicycles.

The proposed reduction from a journey of more than an hour to around 20 minutes was a planning assumption. The visuals below communicate the concept; they do not demonstrate an operating service or validated travel-time savings.