Humans and Machines in the subway

Abstract

In this work we analyze the repercussions that the recent implementation of an electronic fare collection system - with smart cards – has brought to everyday life of subway riders in Rio de Janeiro. The adoption of a fare collection system involves the choice of a technology and the stipulation of a charging system. By following this technological evolution in Rio de Janeiro’s subway, we explore how its riders learn to approach the new interfaces with the automatic machines and to cope with the payment conditions, which are at the same time imposed. We note, in this context, how the technological devices are coupled to human actions regarding the construction of a new fare collection system as well as the sociability that is developed in the subway technological space.