Getting around in Brazil

Public transport network in Brazil

Each major Brazilian city runs its own transport network under its local authority. São Paulo combines buses managed by SPTrans (the municipal bus manager) with the Metrô (the city's metro) and CPTM (the metropolitan commuter rail). Rio de Janeiro has MetrôRio (the metro operator), the VLT (light rail) and the BRT (bus rapid transit), Brasília has Metrô-DF (the capital's metro), and Curitiba's buses come under URBS (the city's urban transport body). Because operators, fares and cards differ, you judge reliability city by city and check the local operator before you plan a commute.

Riders across the country give mixed marks. In the second quarter of 2026, 38.7% of the Cittamobi app users who answered the Qualimob survey in 246 cities across all 27 states rated public transport positively overall. Most prioritize bus punctuality (66.5%), followed by shorter waiting times (47.5%), so frequency and on-time performance are key when comparing routes. In Curitiba, bus users gave the network an overall satisfaction score of 7 out of 10 in the 2025 QualiÔnibus survey.

Weather also affects daily travel. Heatwaves, intense rain and flooding disrupt journeys. So if you are choosing where to live, it is worth asking how a city's transport copes with heavy rain.

Metro and urban rail in Brazil

São Paulo's Metrô runs from 04:40 to midnight, with closing times that vary by station, and overnight operation from Saturday to Sunday is currently an experiment. Linha 17-Ouro (a Metrô line in a transitional phase) runs Monday to Saturday from 06:00 to 22:00 and currently charges no fare. For late returns, check the Metrô timetable page for the closing time at your station.

On lines 1, 2, 3, and 15, trains are scheduled to arrive every 132 to 179 seconds during weekday peak, so at rush hour you can board without checking the timetable. Off-peak intervals are longer, as the table shows :

Metrô fares come as single journeys, rail-only time credits and prepaid bundles on the Cartão Fidelidade (a card for bundles of prepaid journeys). The table lists each product, so you can match it to how often you ride :

In Brasília, Metrô-DF runs Monday to Saturday from 05:30 to 23:30 and on holidays from 07:00 to 19:00. Sunday service opens at 07:00 and closes at 21:30 in the current local timetable, although the operator's older service charter gives a different Sunday closing time, so confirm it before a Sunday journey. Weekday peaks run from 06:00 to 08:45 and from 16:45 to 19:30. A journey costs BRL 5.50 (USD 1.09), payable in cash at ticket offices, by bank card contactless at the gates or through BRB Mobilidade (Brasília's payment channel). Interchange terminals at the Central, Shopping, Asa Sul and Centro Metropolitano stations connect the metro to the bus network, so you can ride to one of them and continue by bus.

Rio de Janeiro splits urban rail between MetrôRio and the VLT Carioca. The VLT links stops in the center and the port area with Santos Dumont airport, metro stations, the Praça XV ferries, Central trains and Terminal Gentileza (a Rio transport terminal). MetrôRio lines 1, 2 and 4 charge BRL 7.90 (USD 1.57) per journey, a public fare set by municipal decree. The VLT charges BRL 5.00 (USD 0.993) per journey, paid with a Jaé card (Rio's transport card and app) or an app-generated QR code, and its route makes it a useful link between the other modes.

Buses in Brazil

Each city prices its own bus network, and São Paulo's municipal buses charge the same fare on day and night lines. Students pay half, and employees whose employer loads commuting credit through Vale-Transporte (employer-paid commuting credit) pay slightly more. An ordinary journey costs BRL 5.30 (USD 1.05), the student fare is BRL 2.65 (USD 0.5263) and the Vale-Transporte fare is BRL 5.82 (USD 1.16). Cash paid on the bus without a Bilhete Único (São Paulo's rechargeable travel card) covers one boarding at BRL 5.30 (USD 1.05).

SPTrans buses are free on Sundays from 00:00 to 23:59 and on Christmas, New Year's Day and the city anniversary, on both daytime and night lines. For timetables, stops, service changes and step-by-step directions in São Paulo and its metropolitan area, Moovit (a journey-planning app) carries the SPTrans routes. Curitiba works differently, with a municipal bus fare frozen at BRL 6.00 (USD 1.19) per journey.

Intercity coaches connect the cities. Cometa links São Paulo with the coast, the interior and neighboring states, with online booking and its own app. 1001 runs Rio de Janeiro-São Paulo coaches by day and by night in conventional, executive, semi-sleeper and sleeper categories, with online booking confirmed by email.

The ANTT (the federal land transport regulator) sets passenger rights on interstate buses. Your ticket must match the identity document you show at boarding, travelers with mobility difficulties receive boarding assistance, and companies display updated schedules, journey durations, fares and destinations. Fares include 30 kg of hold luggage and 5 kg of hand luggage. A delay of more than 1 hour gives you the right to an alternative service or a refund, and a delay of more than 3 hours adds meals and lodging when the operator is responsible. You can request a refund at least 3 hours before boarding, and a ticket stays valid for 1 year, so an unused ticket keeps its value.

Good to know:

Rio de Janeiro's Santa Teresa neighborhood still runs its bonde (tram) on two branches, Paula Mattos and Dois Irmãos, and it serves residents as well as visitors. Tickets cost BRL 20 (USD 3.97) and include return travel and same-day reboarding. Registered residents and certain beneficiaries travel free.

Trains in Brazil

Only two railways run regular passenger services on the ANTT list, Vitória a Minas between Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo and Carajás in Pará and Maranhão. Vale operates both, so booking, boarding rules and concessions follow each railway's own conditions. Tourist and heritage trains are listed separately.

Vitória a Minas (EFVM, Estrada de Ferro Vitória a Minas) runs a daily passenger train year-round, with extra night trains during the January, July, and December holidays. Tickets can be bought online, in the app and at official sales points. To board, you need a ticket and a valid official photo ID (including a passport), and you must arrive 30 minutes before departure. Boarding at Pedro Nolasco station in Cariacica and at Belo Horizonte closes 15 minutes before departure. The table shows the one-way fares from Pedro Nolasco:

The EFVM provides a dedicated car for wheelchair users and their companions, adapted toilets, and a field on the ticket purchase page for specific assistance needs. If you travel with a young child, children through age 5 ride free on a responsible adult's lap, limited to one child per paying adult, and pick up a boarding ticket at the counter. The full fare applies from age 6.

Carajás (EFC, Estrada de Ferro Carajás) tickets go on sale up to 45 days before travel, online by credit card or at official sales points with cash, debit or credit. The Trem de Passageiros app (Vale's ticket app) buys and displays them. Economy-class interstate seats offer senior benefits for qualifying low-income passengers aged 60 or over with an individual monthly income up to 2 minimum wages, including up to 2 free seats per journey, then a 50% discount. Holders of a valid disability credential travel free with the Passe Livre (the free-travel credential for people with disabilities).

ANTT regulations for regular passenger rail allow a refund if you request it at least 6 hours before the stated departure, with a deduction of up to 5% of the tariff. A ticket stays valid for 1 year from the first issue, and rebooking requested from 3 hours before departure until the ticket expires may carry a charge of up to 20% of the tariff, so it's cheapest to return an unused ticket at least 6 hours ahead.

Ferries in Brazil

The timetable determines whether a ferry works for commuting. On the Praça Arariboia-Praça XV route of Barcas Rio (Rio de Janeiro's ferry operator), weekday departures run every 15 minutes between 06:30 and 10:00 from Praça Arariboia and between 16:30 and 20:30 from Praça XV. On Saturdays, departures run every 30 minutes, and on Sundays and holidays, every 60 minutes within the published operating window.

The São Sebastião-Ilhabela ferry carries pedestrians and vehicles, and pedestrians and cyclists travel free. It operates 24 hours a day, and a crossing takes 20 to 30 minutes, depending on weather and traffic, excluding queueing. Hora Marcada is the reservation service for vehicles. Vehicle tariffs are charged in one direction. For a car or a pickup, you will pay BRL 19 (USD 3.77) on weekdays and BRL 28.50 (USD 5.66) on weekends and holidays. For a motorcycle, the fare is BRL 9.50 (USD 1.89) on weekdays and BRL 14.20 (USD 2.82) on weekends and holidays.

The Salvador-Itaparica ferry operates Monday to Saturday from 05:00 to 23:30, and vehicle-only Hora Marcada bookings are made through the operator's website. Foot passengers pay BRL 7.20 (USD 1.43) on weekdays and BRL 9.50 (USD 1.89) on weekends and holidays.

Tickets and passes in Brazil

São Paulo's Bilhete Único Comum is open to anyone from age 6 and holds the ordinary, daily and monthly credits, so getting the card comes before choosing a fare product. The card is personal and non-transferable, and the application uses your own RG (Registro Geral, the national identity document) and your CPF (the taxpayer registration number). If you do not have a CPF yet, foreigners can register for one through the online form of Receita Federal (the federal tax authority), which asks for identity-document details, nationality, address and contact information.

With both numbers, you get the card and put credit on it in this order:

1. Apply through the SPTrans attendance website with your own RG and CPF.
2. Receive the card by delivery (freight), or collect it at an SPTrans attendance post by presenting your identity.
3. Load credit bought online or in an app at recharge equipment on buses or at machines in terminals, metro stations, and train stations. SPTrans provides an online shop and a search for recharge points.
4. For employer credit, give the card number to your human resources department, and they load the credit onto the card.

The first common card has no issuance cost and no minimum top-up. Credit types differ in how many boardings they allow. Ordinary credit allows up to 4 different bus boardings within 3 hours, and integrated credit allows up to 3 different bus boardings plus 1 rail boarding within an initial rail window of 2 hours. The bus-rail integration fare is BRL 9.38 (USD 1.86) per journey with ordinary credit and BRL 11.32 (USD 2.25) with Vale-Transporte credit.

Time-based credits cover heavier use. Daily credit costs BRL 20.25 (USD 4.02) for bus only and BRL 27.28 (USD 5.42) with integration, each valid for one 24-hour period, and bus-only weekly credit costs BRL 66.94 (USD 13.3). Monthly credit costs BRL 257.53 (USD 51.1) for bus only and BRL 411.13 (USD 81.7) with integration. Monthly credit runs for 31 days from first use with up to 10 journeys a day, and daily credit runs for 24 continuous hours with up to 10 journeys, so the clock starts on your first tap, with the purchase date playing no part.

If you prefer your phone to a card, you can buy the Bilhete QR Digital after app registration with Pix (Brazil's instant bank-transfer payment), debit card, or Apple Pay, and show it to the reader beneath the bus validator. QR payment does not allow transfers. SP Pass (SPTrans's recharge app) handles unit QR tickets and ordinary, daily, monthly and student recharges, and PicPay, RecargaPay and Mercado Pago handle specified Bilhete Único recharge types.

A lost, stolen or robbed Bilhete Único is canceled through SP156 (São Paulo's city service line), the service website or an SPTrans attendance post. The remaining credit becomes available 72 hours after cancellation, and the replacement card costs the equivalent of 7 current bus fares.

Students have their own card and tariff. Applications for the second semester close in November, and your school sends your current enrolment details before you apply on the student card application page. A first student card or an eligible plastic-card revalidation costs BRL 37.10 (USD 7.37), and a first card arrives within 15 days of the completed request and fee payment. Continuing beneficiaries are reactivated for free after the school renews their enrolment, and the student bus-rail integration tariff is BRL 5.35 (USD 1.06) per journey.

Older riders receive free quotas in São Paulo. People aged 60 to 64 get free rail and bus quotas on the Bilhete Único Comum and load them by tapping twice on recharge equipment at the start of each month, and on municipal buses passengers from 60 can instead show official photo ID and exit through the front door. From age 65, a senior card covers residents of São Paulo, its metropolitan region, Campo Limpo Paulista, Vargem Grande Paulista and Jundiaí. You can apply through SPTrans attendance channels with your RG, CPF, address proof less than 3 months old and a current photo, and the card is posted to your registered address. Metrô travel is free for accompanied children under 6 and for adults 65 and older who show supporting documents at designated gates. The card is individual and nontransferable.

Bank cards now work at the gates in several cities. Elo, Mastercard and Visa credit and debit cards, including phones and smartwatches, work directly at all São Paulo Metrô station gates, and the Bilhete Único, the Cartão TOP (the Metrô payment card) and QR Code remain available. MetrôRio accepts contactless Visa, Mastercard and Elo cards and NFC-enabled mobile devices at marked validators.

In Rio de Janeiro, three payment tools overlap. The Giro card (MetrôRio's card) keeps its credit protected once you register it in the MetrôRio app or on the Giro website. The initial purchase costs BRL 11.90 (USD 2.36), including a BRL 4 (USD 0.7944) card deposit and BRL 7.90 (USD 1.57) in travel credit, and app and website recharges have no minimum. VLT users generate a fresh Jaé QR code for each passage. Jaé machines accept credit cards, debit cards and banknotes, give no change, take no coins and are not available at Praia Formosa. Jaé app recharges by Pix or credit card are released immediately, and cash recharges are possible at machines, authorized establishments and BRT terminal ticket offices. The Bilhete Único Carioca (BUC) allows up to 3 journeys within 3 hours, including one BRT journey, for one municipal tariff of BRL 5 (USD 0.993), and the integration works through the black Jaé card or a QR code.

Taxis in Brazil

At São Paulo's Congonhas, Tietê, Barra Funda and Anhembi taxi points (the official taxi ranks), you can choose a prepaid fixed tariff calculated from your destination using the municipal table, so the price is set before the trip starts. Elsewhere in the city, taxis charge by meter under a municipal tariff.

The meter starts at BRL 6.55 (USD 1.30), adds BRL 4.80 (USD 0.9533) per kilometer and BRL 55.50 (USD 11.0) per hour, and these rates apply to accessible, ordinary, radio, special and executive taxis. Bandeira 2 (the higher distance tariff band) raises the distance tariff by 30% on Sundays, on holidays and on weekdays from 20:00 to 06:00, so a late-night ride costs more per kilometer.

Ordinary and special taxis in São Paulo are white and executive taxis are black, and the color is assessed against the vehicle's licensing document. Fake taxis exist too, so be careful.

Tipping in taxis and Uber is left to your discretion, and Uber's app has an in-app tipping option.

Ride-sharing and apps in Brazil

Which app works depends on the city. Uber operates in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Salvador, Manaus, Recife, Porto Alegre and Curitiba, among other cities, and product availability varies from one city to the next. 99 (a ride-hailing app) serves Brasília with its 99Pop category (99's standard category) and provides in-app help and passenger-service channels.

App rides operate under federal law. Each municipality, and the Federal District within its own territory, regulates and supervises app-based private passenger transport under Law 12.587/2012 as amended by Law 13.640/2018, so rules can differ between cities.

Uber shows an estimated price once you enter a destination, and prices can rise when demand exceeds the number of available drivers. Uber accepts Pix throughout its Brazilian city coverage, and the payment goes to Uber before the trip, using the code generated in the app. For safety, 99 offers route sharing, real-time trip monitoring, identity checks and a security center that operates 24 hours a day.

Driving in Brazil

São Paulo's rodízio (a weekday restriction on driving by license-plate ending) limits vehicles within a defined central road area from 07:00 to 10:00 and from 17:00 to 20:00. CET (São Paulo's traffic authority) publishes the boundary map and the exemptions, so you can check whether your plate and your route are affected before you buy a car. Licenses and vehicle ownership are covered in our Driving in Brazil article.

Fuel adds to the cost of running a car. Nationally, retail averages stand at BRL 6.55 (USD 1.30) per liter for gasoline, BRL 4.13 (USD 0.8202) for ethanol and BRL 7.35 (USD 1.46) for diesel B S10. Gasoline averages BRL 6.35 (USD 1.26) in São Paulo, BRL 6.66 (USD 1.32) in Brasília, BRL 5.98 (USD 1.19) in Porto Alegre and BRL 7.56 (USD 1.50) in Boa Vista, so where you live changes the bill.

Parking on the street is managed too. CET runs 52,545 Zona Azul spaces (managed paid on-street parking) in São Paulo, 46,638 of them ordinary, and publishes a digital map with the location and category of each space. If you only need a car occasionally, Guarulhos airport hosts the rental companies Localiza, Movida, Unidas and Turbi, with round-the-clock service and terminal-specific counters or collection points.

Cycling in Brazil

São Paulo has 795.5 km of permanent cycling infrastructure, made up of 759.2 km of cycleways and cycle lanes and 36.3 km of signed cycling routes. CET publishes an interactive route map, so you can check your commute on it before you rely on a bike. The city also offers 7,078 bike-storage spaces in 62 facilities and 2,291 bike-rack spaces at 73 locations.  

Bike Itaú (a bike-sharing brand operated by Tembici) serves São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco, Porto Alegre and Salvador, and the Tembici app serves Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Florianópolis and Riviera. You need to register first, then buy a plan and enter payment details during account setup. The table shows the São Paulo plans.

On the monthly plan, mechanical-bike time beyond 45 minutes costs BRL 0.20 (USD 0.0397) per minute, and each extra trip costs BRL 5.90 (USD 1.17). An electric bike adds a withdrawal charge of BRL 9.99 (USD 1.98) and BRL 0.39 (USD 0.0775) per minute beyond 45 minutes. A trip ends once you lock the bike into an authorized dock and the app confirms it. The São Paulo service runs 24 hours a day, and Brasília has shorter published hours, as the Tembici instructions explain.

If you would rather own a bike, an urban adult model such as the Riverside MS 520 lists at BRL 1,499.99 (USD 298), and the Rockrider Explore 100 adult bicycle lists at BRL 1,999.99 (USD 397).

The national traffic code sets the road rules. Where no usable cycling infrastructure or shoulder exists, bicycles ride on the edge of the roadway in the same direction as traffic, with priority over motor vehicles, and riding on the sidewalk needs the authority's permission and signage. Gloves and helmets are recommended and not compulsory, and drivers keep at least 1.5 meters of lateral distance from cyclists, according to guidance from DNIT (the federal transport infrastructure agency).

Airport connections in Brazil

Guarulhos Airport (GRU) has a rail link. The Aeroporto-Guarulhos station on Linha 13-Jade (the CPTM line serving GRU) connects to Engenheiro Goulart and onward metropolitan rail. From the station, the free AeroGRU automated connector runs on a 2,700-meter line with 4 stations to the airport terminals. It operates from 04:00 to midnight, takes about 6 minutes for the full trip, and buses continue during the adaptation period.

City rail to GRU costs BRL 5.40 (USD 1.07) per journey, either with Linha 13-Jade from Engenheiro Goulart or with the Expresso Aeroporto (the express train from Barra Funda). Expresso departures run hourly, and every 30 minutes on Sundays.

Road options to GRU cover coaches, taxis and pre-booked rides:

• Airport Bus Service (the airport coach operator) sells tickets at terminal counters, at machines, on its website and directly from the driver, and EMTU (the São Paulo metropolitan bus authority) line 257 runs to Metrô Tatuapé with municipal Guarulhos connections.
• The company accepts credit and debit cards on all lines, including onboard purchase, and the ticket is represented by an online QR code. Its Paulista via República route may require a physical or driver purchase.
• The Tatuapé-Guarulhos coach takes 35 minutes on weekdays without traffic and 45 to 50 minutes on weekends and holidays. Executive lines boarding at bus terminals carry a boarding charge of BRL 2.20 (USD 0.4369) per ticket, and children below 5 travel free without occupying a seat, while children from 6 pay.
• Guarucoop, the airport's municipally concessioned taxi cooperative, has tabled prices and desks at the passenger terminals, and it operates 24 hours a day.
• Uber's Reserve service takes bookings for GRU up to 90 days in advance and displays the price before you book.

Brasília's airport (BSB) has no Metrô-DF link. Executive bus 113 and conventional buses run from BSB to the Plano Piloto bus station (central Brasília), and the conventional upper fare is BRL 5.50 (USD 1.09).