The public transport system in Rio, connects the entire city, facilitating the movement of locals and tourists through all city parts. Today, Rio has a wide network of buses, trains, three subway lines and a VLT, which connects the port area with Santos Dumont Airport.
The city of Rio has a very developed bus network, and many lines operate 24 hours a day. This means that using this transport to get to know the city is a great option. What is important to mention is that the transport in Rio is affordable, so the price of one ticket is 3.80 BRL. If you plan to get to know the city and take buses more often, then we advise you to buy a Carioca card - it is a magnetic card that is accepted by all city transport. You can top up the given card with money and ride around the city. You can buy the card in RioCard stores, and the devices are also installed in supermarkets. The Carioca card costs 3 BRL. When you are done with the card, i.e. you won’t use it anymore, you can return it and get 3 BRL back.
Rio Metro. The subway is the fastest public transport in Rio. There are three metro lines: Line 1, which connects the south with the north; Line 2, which connects Pavuna with the center; And Line 4, which connects the southern zone with Barra da Tijuca. In addition, the Rio subway has the ability to integrate with bus, GRT and train. The Rio subway has good signs and maps at all stations. Free Wi-Fi is available in the metro.
New BRT network - The latest transport system in Rio de Janeiro was created to facilitate city transport during the 2016 Olympic Games, and was designed as a faster bus system. The new network provides access to previously hard-to-reach places located in the western and northern zones of the city, although most of these places are not tourist destinations and represent residential areas.
The metro integration system combines subway travel with other means of transport, ie with buses, boats or GRT - at a cheaper price. If you use a RioCard (we definitely recommend that you buy it, it only costs 3 BRL, it is a magnetic card on which you can pay extra for rides for all means of transport) this price will be automatically reduced on your card. There are several types of integration systems: metro + GRT - price 6.05 BRL
Train transport in the city of Rio de Janeiro is called SuperVia. Although we are aware that you will probably not need this type of transport because it is mostly used by locals for daily commuting, and the given train routes do not have many tourist attractions on their route, we decided to explain how this transport network works in case you might need it. One of the rare tourist attractions that is located on one train line is Maracana Stadium, but tourists almost always opt for the metro because the stadium is located on the green metro line, and it comes much faster.
