Nordic-Light-Jun2014-Aug2014

Business Sweden
By Björn Clavey
(Left to right) Swedish Ambassador Magnus Robach, Santa
Catarina State Planning Secretary Murilo Xavier Flores, Florianopolis
Mayor Cesar Souza Júnior, Florianopolis Urban Mobility Secretary
Valmir Humberto Piacentini, and Guilherme Medeiros, Technical
Coordinator of Plamus. (Photo by Julio Trindade)
Seminar about
urban transport
solutions in
Florianopolis
Photo by Mauro Vaz
On May 14, the Swedish Embassy together with Business
Sweden arranged a seminar about solutions for public transport in
the city of Florianopolis, Santa Catarina State, attracting 80 decision
makers, managers and specialists of urban transport from the
region. The objective was to present economically and environmentally
sustainable solutions for the transport system as supplied by
companies such as Volvo and Ericsson.
Systematic approach
Florianopolis is known as a beautiful tourist destination and
for its high quality of life. However, just like in any developing
urban center, the inhabitants of the metropolitan region have experienced
a worsened traffic situation due to the growing number
of cars. The insular location, with the bridges being a bottleneck,
adds to the difficulties as do seasonal peaks due to tourism.
Public transport today exclusively consists of ordinary bus lines
and has suffered tremendously from the slower traffic flow, the result
being longer transport times and higher ticket fares. Facing this situation,
the state government decided to adopt a systematic approach
towards planning the future of public transport in the region.
Plamus, an independent consortium, won the bid to develop
a plan for the public transport system. Currently, several modalities
such as Bus Rapid Transport (BRT), monorail and tramway are
being studied.
Swedish solutions
The decision about the future public transport
system is expected to be taken later this year, so
the timing for the seminar was just right. The large
number of attendants and the strong repercussion
in local media further emphasized the high interest.
Ambassador Magnus Robach opened the seminar
together with the Mayor of Florianopolis and the
State Secretary of Planning.
Alberto Rodrigues from Ericsson showed examples
of how transport systems can be organized in a more
intelligent and efficient way by using resources of
wireless connectivity. He mentioned the example of
São José dos Campos, where Ericsson implemented a
solution that allows fleet monitoring in real time.
Volvo presented solutions for BRT that offer capacity
and comfort comparable to that of a subway,
but at costs only a small fraction of this. Hybrid
buses were another important aspect presented by
Volvo. These vehicles use 35% less fuel and produce
50% less pollution than ordinary buses.
The seminar made it possible to position the
solutions from the Swedish companies at the heart
of the ongoing debate and will hopefully have a
positive influence on the upcoming decision.
Swedish Health Network
On Friday May 16, Business Sweden together
with the Embassy launched the SymbioCare platform
“Healthcare by Sweden 2014”. Executives
from five leading Swedish companies that work
towards the Brazilian healthcare sector were invited
to the kick-off meeting.
The objective of the workshop was to discuss
and develop ideas on how the Embassy and Business
Sweden can promote common interests of the
involved companies. A preliminary plan for 2014 and
2015 was established which includes activities for
straightening the relationship with Anvisa, study visits
to health authorities and hospitals and gaining an
in-depth understanding of some aspects of the SUS.
If you are interested in participating in the health
network, please contact Jessica Arnlund, Senior Project
Manager at Business Sweden, (11) 2137 4417.
18 JUNE - AUGUST 2014