Israeli App to Guide Olympic-Goers Through Rio Streets

The Times of Israel reports: RIO DE JANEIRO — The Israeli app Moovit will guide tourists and local residents to the fastest and safest routes to and between competition venues at the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer.

Moovit will provide real-time information in 35 languages on the fastest public transportation routes – buses, trains, subway, light rail transport, ferry boats and cable cars – to some 1.5 million current local users and another 500,000 visitors, according to Rio’s official tourism website (Portuguese).

Fifty kilometers, or 31 miles, of new lines have been mapped with traffic information in order to make transit during the Rio Olympics smoother. The Israeli startup, dubbed “the Waze of public transportation,” will work based on data provided by the Rio municipality database.

“Our city advances in the use of technology through this partnership, which will allow not only the Olympic spectators but also the whole population to access a multimodal travel planner with real-time information,” said Rio’s secretary of transportation, Rafael Picciani. “This is a great achievement for the Games and will remain as its legacy.”