Using mobility apps to optimize commuting during the morning-afternoon rush hour in São Paulo city

The operation of the transportation system in the megacity of São Paulo is a constant challenge, especially during rush hour, with a motorization indicator of 1.35 people per vehicle, or about 74%. Every day, people in São Paulo face several bottlenecks that directly impact their daily lives. Therefore, the use of mobility applications that offer better routes for the displacement of people in urban centers deserves attention, as they contribute to the reduction of travel time and transportation costs. This paper aims to compare and analyze the travel time among the main routes from the East Zone and South Zone to downtown São Paulo, using mobility applications. To do so, data was collected using the mobility apps Google Maps and Waze on five routes selected from the report of the Traffic Engineering Company. The results showed that the total travel time was higher for the East Zone routes, estimated at 131.6 minutes (Google Maps) and 114.6 minutes (Waze), than for the South Zone, which showed a total time of 112.4 minutes (Google Maps) and 109 minutes (Waze). Comparing these results with the literature, it was observed that after decades, the city of São Paulo still does not meet the demand for mobility in a satisfactory manner. Thus, it was concluded that the use of mobility applications is a palliative measure to assist in the displacement of people but does not solve the problem of urban mobility.