Rio de Janeiro debuts new commuter cable cars

AP

Never mind driving or jumping on the train to get to work - how about riding a cable car, instead?

That's exactly what the public can now do thanks to the brand new £45 million six-station gondola line running above a collection of favelas.

The Complexo do Alemao carries an estimated 30,000 people a day along a 2.1-mile route over the shanty towns, which don't have running water or sewers.

The new urban gondola line has transformed what used to be an hour-and-a-half schlep into a 16-minute, theme park-style sky ride.

The move is just one of the city's many regeneration projects planned in anticipation of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.