Commuters faced chaos Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro as bus drivers went on strike, trashing dozens of buses in the latest walkout to hit Brazil in the run-up to the World Cup.
With 30 days to go to the tournament, the city deployed military police to protect the trickle of buses that took to the streets -- 16 percent of the normal fleet -- but strikers still trashed 74 of them, officials said.
The drivers' 48-hour strike follows another on Thursday in which 531 buses were trashed or set on fire, causing an estimated 17 million reais ($7.7 million, 5.6 million euros) in damage.
Businesses said last week's strike cost them 250 million reais, 60 percent of their daily turnover.
The bus drivers are demanding monthly salaries of 2,500 reais -- a 40-percent raise -- and an end to their double duty as drivers and fare collectors.
About two million of Rio's 6.3 million people depend on the city's privately run bus network, said municipal transport secretary Alexandre Sansao.
The city stepped up its train, metro and ferry services Tuesday in a bid to deal with the overflow.
Hundreds of thousands of domestic and foreign tourists are set to flood Rio for the World Cup.
The city, which will host seven matches including the July 13 final, has been hit by a rash of strikes ahead of the tournament.
Teachers, bank security guards and the federal police have all gone on strike in recent weeks, the latter raising security fears by threatening to stay off the job during the World Cup.
Commuters faced chaos Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro as bus drivers went on strike, trashing dozens of buses in the latest walkout to hit Brazil in the run-up to the World Cup.
With 30 days to go to the tournament, the city deployed military police to protect the trickle of buses that took to the streets — 16 percent of the normal fleet — but strikers still trashed 74 of them, officials said.
The drivers’ 48-hour strike follows another on Thursday in which 531 buses were trashed or set on fire, causing an estimated 17 million reais ($7.7 million, 5.6 million euros) in damage.
Businesses said last week’s strike cost them 250 million reais, 60 percent of their daily turnover.
The bus drivers are demanding monthly salaries of 2,500 reais — a 40-percent raise — and an end to their double duty as drivers and fare collectors.
About two million of Rio’s 6.3 million people depend on the city’s privately run bus network, said municipal transport secretary Alexandre Sansao.
The city stepped up its train, metro and ferry services Tuesday in a bid to deal with the overflow.
Hundreds of thousands of domestic and foreign tourists are set to flood Rio for the World Cup.
The city, which will host seven matches including the July 13 final, has been hit by a rash of strikes ahead of the tournament.
Teachers, bank security guards and the federal police have all gone on strike in recent weeks, the latter raising security fears by threatening to stay off the job during the World Cup.
