Spreading the Mooviter Community Nationwide

April 24, 2017

    The city – Campo Grande

    Campo Grande.jnp

    Campo Grande is the capital of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, located centrally, in the west of Brazil, on the country’s border with Bolivia and Paraguay. The city has a population of around 800,000 and every year the city’s inhabitants gather to celebrate the Festa Junina — an event for the nativity of St. John the Baptist, which is historically related to the European Midsummer in June. During the celebrations, the participants enjoy local dishes, light bonfires and join choreographed group dances.

    The Ambassador

    Leonardo began his momentous journey in the Mooviter Community in June 2015, when he noticed a message from one of the founders of the Brazilian Mooviter Community, Cristiano, on a public transport forum for Campo Grande. Leonardo admits that at first, because he was not a native-born of the city, he was not sure how he could help. At that time he had only lived in the city for 18 months, but Leonardo soon understood that he had plenty to contribute to the mapping project. “I received the email invitation and I mapped the line I used to take to my college on that same day. It even made me late for a party because I got so interested in it!” Leonardo, taking his cue from the message he first saw from Cristiano, posted on a Facebook page for public transport in Campo Grande inviting others to join the mapping efforts. Shortly after, several new volunteers joined the project to map the public transit lines of Campo Grande in a few short weeks during the summer of 2015. The gang planned to launch the static information for Campo Grande on the Moovit application by the city’s anniversary of establishment on August 28, the team completed their mission speedily by August 23, a great reason for celebration!

    In Campo Grande an official partnership was established between Moovit and the local operator, who guaranteed to input information to the app. At this point some may consider their mission complete, but not Leonardo. The dedicated Ambassador decided to actively map and contribute to other cities across Brazil. In the past 18 months Leonardo has added another 16 cities to the repertoire of city projects he contributes to. What a huge impact he is having on the Mooviter Community’s mission to improve access to public transport information for his fellow Brazilians! There are some cities where acquiring the information necessary for mapping the transit routes is particularly difficult. “Certainly, there was no bigger challenge for me than launching Porto Velho (the capital of the Brazilian state of Rondônia, in the upper Amazon River basin). We had to gather each piece of information, in addition to contacting the city hall, getting the schedules of the lines and in the end… the transit agencies ceased to operate and a new consortium took over, with many changes on the lines.” Leonardo explains.

    Leonardo’s efforts are not limited solely to mapping in the Editor. For example, he was one of the first to understand the value of Facebook groups in attracting new volunteers to the mapping project for other cities across Brazil. He tells us, “These groups unite Mooviters and app users in one place. Through the group, the user has a direct way to report a problem with the static data, and it’s good for the Mooviters too, as they can make corrections immediately.” Additionally, Leonardo is a member of numerous collaborative WhatsApp groups, helping manage the information gathered on public transit  across 16 cities, creating line maps for cities, teaching new Mooviters how to use the Editor, creating line alerts to inform app users of changes in services, and even adding information about travel card costs to the app for each new city. What makes Leonardo so dedicated? He explains that for him, the most enjoyable element is being part of a community. He explains, “You are welcomed like a member of a family and you build friendships through the mapping.”

    Leonardo has been an integral part of the Mooviter Community’s growth and success in Brazil, and he asserts that it is this growth that inspires him to continue contributing.

    Feeling inspired? Learn more about the Ambassador Program.

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