RIO DE JANEIRO, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Bus drivers in Rio de Janeiro, one of 12 cities hosting the upcoming 2014 Brazil World Cup, on Tuesday started a 48-hour strike, demanding higher pay and thrusting the country's second-largest city into chaos as commuters scrambled to find alternate ways to get to work.
The strike is the second in less than a week by bus drivers in Rio, one of Brazil's leading tourism destinations.
According to the Municipal Transportation Secretariat, barely 10 percent of the city's bus fleet were operating early Tuesday, forcing authorities to increase subway and train services as thousands of straphangers had to resort to other means of transportation instead of buses.
Bus drivers are demanding a 40 percent pay rise, an amount rebuffed by bus companies. Last week, bus drivers' union and bus companies agreed to a 10 percent pay rise, which was rejected by drivers as insufficient. They then declared a 24-hour strike Thursday that saw some 460 buses vandalized and damaged.
A loss of bus service could cause serious chaos, as many areas of the city, with a population of 7 million, are only served by buses.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil will be held from June 12 to July 13. Rio is set to host seven World Cup matches, including the final, and public transportation is essential to guaranteeing spectators will be able to get to the games, as private vehicles will be banned from the vicinity of the city's main venue of Maracana Stadium.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑） |