Rio’s trolley services to go digital

World Today

In a digital era, one can book or buy almost anything from the internet. But, there are some services the web is yet to touch. And one of them is the hand pushed trolley-cart in Rio de Janeiro. However, there is a pilot project being conceived to get trolley-men online. CCTV America’s Stephen Gibbs reported this story from Rio de Janerio.

It is a job which helps keep this city moving. The trolley-men of Rio have been a feature of this city as long as anyone can remember. Their work is a mix of porter and recycler. Diego Felipe has been doing this since he was 12. He said it has its upside.

“There is the good part, which is that nobody tells me what to do. I can organize my own schedule. We work when we want. And when we work, we meet a lot of people, rich, poor, all types,” he said.

It is also a hard and sometimes risky job. The trolley-men walk tens of kilometers every day. It’s estimated that there are a million people doing this work across Brazil. This is one form of employment which hasn’t really changed in centuries. But now there are moves to modernize it.

One man has been showing these trolley-men a completely free website he’s set up. It’s designed along the same principals as an Internet taxi booking service. Trolley men are being encouraged to put their information online so they can be found via a search engine.

“This is a bridge between the customers and them. The idea is to facilitate contact between them and their customer,” said Luiz Americo Quintiere of burrosemrabo.com.

Andrea Cateano, a trolley-woman, usually gets work by previous customers calling. She said she liked the idea.

“This is interesting for both us and the clients. But especially for us. We are a bit forgotten here, maybe people need us. And we are here hoping to work,” she said.