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Ana Carboni is a cycling advocate living and working in a super-challenging environment. Brasilia is the purpose-built capital of Brazil. It has some famous modern architecture including its sculptural parliament building.

But Brasilia was designed in the 1950’s, entirely around the automobile. The result is a sprawling, high speed car-dominated city that is deadly for cyclists and pedestrians and very poor public transport options.

Ana graduated and later practised as a clinical psychologist, before moving to a career in human resources. She moved to London where she worked at the Brazilian Embassy and also completed a masters degree in Human Resource Management and Organisational Analysis at Kings College London.

Upon returning to her home city of Niterói which is a beautiful coastal part of the greater Rio di Janeiro urban area, Ana became deeply involved in advocacy.

She later moved to Brasilia where she is a Project Manager for the UCB (Brazilian Cyclists Union), the peak national lobbying organisation in this vast country of over 200 million citizens.

Very rarely do cycling podcasts, including ours, stray far from the usual pattern of guests from Europe or North America. So it was both fascinating to learn more about Brazil, but shocking to hear how bad things are there, compared to many other developed nations.

Here are some stark statistics that we share during this episode:

Cyclists

Between 2014 and 2024, Brazil recorded 14,834 cyclist deaths, maintaining a tragic and steady average of roughly four fatalities per day nationwide.

Fifteen years ago, cyclist fatalities made up less than 1% of total traffic deaths. Today, they account for roughly 3.5% of all road fatalities.

Most victims are male, working-class citizens, who rely on bicycles for transport. By far the largest cause of death is being hit by motor vehicles.

Pedestrians

The annual pedestrian death toll ranges from 5,000 to 6,500 per year.

In 2023 5,340 pedestrians were killed, comprising 15.6% of the total road toll that was a staggering 34,110 people killed.

Overall

Brazil’s death rate through traffic violence was 15.7 people per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021, ranking it 118th in the world.

By comparison, “best practice” countries such as Japan, UK, Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries are in the range of two to three deaths per 100,000 inhabitants per year. The Netherlands has 4.1 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. Canada is 4.7 the USA, 14.4.

Niterói’s Exceptional Example

Niterói is a coastal city of about half a million residents located just across the bay from the centre of Rio de Janeiro. It is the wealthiest city in Brazil on a per capita basis.

It has a citywide speed limit of 30 kph, extensive bike infrastructure including the three busiest bike lanes in Brazil. At least one of these lanes counts over 7,000 riders per day.

In stark contrast to the rest of Brazil, between 2020 and 2024 there were no cyclist fatalities at all in the city of Niterói.

Useful Links

If you’d like to learn more about advocacy in Brazil, Ana provided us with the following extensive collection of links:

Social media links: 
https://www.instagram.com/uniaodeciclistas/
https://www.instagram.com/sistemas.seguros/
https://www.instagram.com/rodasdapaz/ 
https://www.instagram.com/biciculturabr/

UCB's website: https://uniaodeciclistas.org.br/ 

UCB's Projects: 
Safe Street's Bill: https://pldasvelocidadesseguras.org.br/ 
National Cycling Strategy: https://estrategiadabicicleta.org.br/
Bicycle Observatory: https://observatoriodabicicleta.org.br/
Cycling map: https://ciclomapa.app/ 
Sustainable Mobility in the Election Campaign (started as Bicycle in the Election Campaign): https://mobilidadenaseleicoes.org.br/municipal/a-campanha/
Best Practices Guide for Bicycle Parking: Bicycle Racks and Bicycle Parking Facilities (2nd edition): https://uniaodeciclistas.org.br/biblioteca/guia-estacionamento-bicicletas/
Manifesto from the Brazilian Cyclists’ Union for COP 30: 
https://uniaodeciclistas.org.br/geral/pedalando-por-justica-climatica-equidade-e-um-futuro-sustentavel-possivel/
The Bicycle as a Promoter of the 18 Sustainable Development Goals in the Brazilian Context: https://uniaodeciclistas.org.br/geral/a-bicicleta-como-promotora-dos-18-ods/
Legislative Advocacy Manual: Promoting Bicycles in the Legislative Branch: https://uniaodeciclistas.org.br/biblioteca/manual-de-incidencia-legislativa/ World Bicycle Forum Memory Secretariat: https://uniaodeciclistas.org.br/memoria-fmb/


What’s Up?

We always finish each podcast with “What’s Up?” in which Sara and Phil share what they’ve be doing, about to do, or interesting things they’ve seen.

Sara began with World Bicycle Day, that was held the same day we were recording. Here are photos of events that provided by Sara’s colleagues on the World Cycling Alliance board:

Sara’s What’s Up also included news of the Australian federal government’s historic announcement of half a billion dollars for cycling and walking infrastructure funding.

Here is an announcement from the peak advocacy group We Ride Australia about the initial funding. And here is a follow up announcement that the funding will be “front loaded” to speed up its impact.

Phil spoke about attending the massive China Cycle expo next year, instead of his usual annual trip to Eurobike. We previously had an interview with Sam Johnson from the World Bank who spoke about a resurgence of cycling in some of China’s major cities after decades of decline due to policies favouring cars over bicycles. You can listen to that episode here.

Ana Carboni is a cycling advocate living and working in a super-challenging environment. Brasilia is the purpose-built capital of Brazil. It has some famous modern architecture including its sculptural parliament building.
But Brasilia was designed in the 1950&rsquo;s, entirely around the automobile. The result is a sprawling, high speed car-dominated city that is deadly for cyclists and pedestrians and very poor public transport options.
Ana graduated and later practised as a clinical psychologist, before moving to a career in human resources. She moved to London where she worked at the Brazilian Embassy and also completed a masters degree in Human Resource Management and Organisational Analysis at Kings College London.
Upon returning to her home city of Niter&oacute;i which is a beautiful coastal part of the greater Rio di Janeiro urban area, Ana became deeply involved in advocacy.
She later moved to Brasilia where she is a Project Manager for the UCB (Brazilian Cyclists Union), the peak national lobbying organisation in this vast country of over 200 million citizens.
Very rarely do cycling podcasts, including ours, stray far from the usual pattern of guests from Europe or North America. So it was both fascinating to learn more about Brazil, but shocking to hear how bad things are there, compared to many other developed nations.
Here are some stark statistics that we share during this episode:
Cyclists
Between 2014 and 2024, Brazil recorded 14,834 cyclist deaths, maintaining a tragic and steady average of roughly four fatalities per day nationwide.
Fifteen years ago, cyclist fatalities made up less than 1% of total traffic deaths. Today, they account for roughly 3.5% of all road fatalities.
Most victims are male, working-class citizens, who rely on bicycles for transport. By far the largest cause of death is being hit by motor vehicles.
Pedestrians
The annual pedestrian death toll ranges from 5,000 to 6,500 per year.
In 2023 5,340 pedestrians were killed, comprising 15.6% of the total road toll that was a staggering 34,110 people killed.
Overall
Brazil&rsquo;s death rate through traffic violence was 15.7 people per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021, ranking it 118th in the world.
By comparison, &ldquo;best practice&rdquo; countries such as Japan, UK, Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries are in the range of two to three deaths per 100,000 inhabitants per year. The Netherlands has 4.1 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. Canada is 4.7 the USA, 14.4.
Niter&oacute;i&rsquo;s Exceptional Example
Niter&oacute;i is a coastal city of about half a million residents located just across the bay from the centre of Rio de Janeiro. It is the wealthiest city in Brazil on a per capita basis.
It has a citywide speed limit of 30 kph, extensive bike infrastructure including the three busiest bike lanes in Brazil. At least one of these lanes counts over 7,000 riders per day.
In stark contrast to the rest of Brazil, between 2020 and 2024 there were no cyclist fatalities at all in the city of Niter&oacute;i.
Useful Links
If you&rsquo;d like to learn more about advocacy in Brazil, Ana provided us with the following extensive collection of links:
Social media links:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.instagram.com/uniaodeciclistas/">https://www.instagram.com/uniaodeciclistas/</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sistemas.seguros/">https://www.instagram.com/sistemas.seguros/</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/rodasdapaz/">https://www.instagram.com/rodasdapaz/&nbsp;</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/biciculturabr/">https://www.instagram.com/biciculturabr/</a> UCB's&nbsp;website:&nbsp;<a href="https://uniaodeciclistas.org.br/">https://uniaodeciclistas.org.br/&nbsp;</a> UCB's Projects:&nbsp; Safe Street's Bill:&nbsp;<a href="https://pldasvelocidadesseguras.org.br/">https://pldasvelocidadesseguras.org.br/&nbsp;</a> National Cycling Strategy:&nbsp;<a href="https://estrategiadabicicleta.org.br/">https://estrategiadabicicleta.org.br/</a> Bicycle Observatory:&nbsp;<a href="https://observatoriodabicicleta.org.br/">https://observatoriodabicicleta.org.br/</a> Cycling map:&nbsp;<a href="https://ciclomapa.app/">https://ciclomapa.app/&nbsp;</a> Sustainable Mobility in the Election Campaign (started as Bicycle in the Election Campaign):&nbsp;<a href="https://mobilidadenaseleicoes.org.br/municipal/a-campanha/">https://mobilidadenaseleicoes.org.br/municipal/a-campanha/</a> Best Practices Guide for Bicycle Parking: Bicycle Racks and Bicycle Parking Facilities (2nd edition):&nbsp;<a href="https://uniaodeciclistas.org.br/biblioteca/guia-estacionamento-bicicletas/">https://uniaodeciclistas.org.br/biblioteca/guia-estacionamento-bicicletas/</a> Manifesto from the Brazilian Cyclists&rsquo; Union for COP 30:&nbsp; <a href="https://uniaodeciclistas.org.br/geral/pedalando-por-justica-climatica-equidade-e-um-futuro-sustentavel-possivel/">https://uniaodeciclistas.org.br/geral/pedalando-por-justica-climatica-equidade-e-um-futuro-sustentavel-possivel/</a> The Bicycle as a Promoter of the 18 Sustainable Development Goals in the Brazilian Context:&nbsp;<a href="https://uniaodeciclistas.org.br/geral/a-bicicleta-como-promotora-dos-18-ods/">https://uniaodeciclistas.org.br/geral/a-bicicleta-como-promotora-dos-18-ods/</a> Legislative Advocacy Manual: Promoting Bicycles in the Legislative Branch:&nbsp;<a href="https://uniaodeciclistas.org.br/biblioteca/manual-de-incidencia-legislativa/">https://uniaodeciclistas.org.br/biblioteca/manual-de-incidencia-legislativa/ </a>World Bicycle Forum Memory Secretariat:&nbsp;<a href="https://uniaodeciclistas.org.br/memoria-fmb/">https://uniaodeciclistas.org.br/memoria-fmb/</a> 
What&rsquo;s Up?
We always finish each podcast with &ldquo;What&rsquo;s Up?&rdquo; in which Sara and Phil share what they&rsquo;ve be doing, about to do, or interesting things they&rsquo;ve seen.
Sara began with World Bicycle Day, that was held the same day we were recording. Here are photos of events that provided by Sara&rsquo;s colleagues on the World Cycling Alliance board:
Sara&rsquo;s What&rsquo;s Up also included news of the Australian federal government&rsquo;s historic announcement of half a billion dollars for cycling and walking infrastructure funding.
Here is an <a href="https://www.weride.org.au/government-relations/a-half-billion-dollar-win-for-walking-and-riding-in-the-budget/">announcement</a> from the peak advocacy group We Ride Australia about the initial funding. And here is a <a href="https://www.weride.org.au/policy-planning/500m-fund-front-loaded-for-max-impact/">follow up announcement</a> that the funding will be &ldquo;front loaded&rdquo; to speed up its impact.
Phil spoke about attending the massive China Cycle expo next year, instead of his usual annual trip to Eurobike. We previously had an interview with Sam Johnson from the World Bank who spoke about a resurgence of cycling in some of China&rsquo;s major cities after decades of decline due to policies favouring cars over bicycles. You can listen to that episode&nbsp;<a href="https://squeakywheelpodcast.com/season-2-episode-7-sam-johnson/">here</a>.

The Squeaky Wheel Podcast is here to inform and inspire through engaging conversations with changemakers shaping the future of active travel and urban mobility. Your hosts, Phil Latz and Irene McAleese, speak with leaders across business, government, academia, and advocacy, sharing insights and ideas that drive real-world impact.

Got something to squeak about? Get in touch with The Squeaky Wheel team via our website: squeakywheelpodcast.com

Follow The Squeaky Wheel on Facebook: facebook.com/squeakywheelpodcast

Follow The Squeaky Wheel on BlueSky: bsky.app/profile/squeaky-wheel.bsky.social

The Squeaky Wheel Podcast&nbsp;is here to inform and inspire through engaging conversations with changemakers shaping the future of&nbsp;active travel and urban mobility. Your hosts, Phil Latz and Irene McAleese, speak with leaders across business, government, academia, and advocacy, sharing insights and ideas that drive real-world impact.
Got something to squeak about? Get in touch with The Squeaky Wheel team via our website: <a href="https://squeakywheelpodcast.com/">squeakywheelpodcast.com</a>
Follow The Squeaky Wheel on Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/squeakywheelpodcast/">facebook.com/squeakywheelpodcast</a>
Follow The Squeaky Wheel on BlueSky: <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/squeaky-wheel.bsky.social">bsky.app/profile/squeaky-wheel.bsky.social</a>

The Squeaky Wheel Podcast hosts, Phil Latz and Irene McAleese, are here to inform and inspire through engaging conversations with changemakers shaping the future of active travel and urban mobility