By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Special bus services to and from the Rock in Rio 2015 music festival in Rio de Janeiro will once again be offered this year through both first class and regular lines. Sales for first class daily passes began on July 1st and continue online and at various locations in the city.
Organizers hope the services will help ease transport for Rock in Rio concertgoers while reducing traffic congestion around the Cidade do Rock (City of Rock) in Barra da Tijuca where the seven-day music festival will take place this September 18th, 19th, 20th, 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th.
“We will repeat the planning implemented during the last two editions of the festival, making the use of public transport the only way to get to the Cidade do Rock,” Antonio Pedro Figueira de Mello, Special Secretary of Tourism of the City of Rio de Janeiro said in a released statement, adding, ” To accomplish this we are working with the festival organizers, with Rio Ônibus and other entities to ensure that all facilities are offered to the public.”
First class bus services will offer air conditioning and leave from fifteen points traveling directly to Riocentro with no stops along the way. The fifteen departure points will be the Galeão and Santos Dumont airports; locations in Rio Sul, Copacabana, Ipanema, Tijuca, Lagoa, and Castelo; and at Barra Shopping, Recreio Shopping, Norte Shopping, Méier, Rodoviária, Nova América and Botafogo Praia Shopping.
First class roundtrip tickets, know as RioCards, are R$70 per day and are currently on sale online, here, on the official Rock in Rio website. Home sales began on July 1st and customers can pick up their passes at accredited locations beginning August 1st. Home delivery of passes will also begin on August 1st.
Additionally during the festival, the regular bus services will integrate with the existing Terminal Alvorada lines. Running from 12PM to 4PM, the fares will be the same as the regular bus rate for city buses. For more information see the Vá de Ônibus website.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the Rock in Rio festival lineup will feature entertainers and musicians including Katy Perry, Robyn, Elton John, Queen with Adam Lambert, One Republic, The Script, Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Royal Blood, System of a Down, Queens of the Stone Age, Slipknot, Angelique Kidjo, and John Legend in addition to important DJs and producers in the electronic music scene.
For more information about the festival, see the official Rock in Rio website.