Transport and the shape of the city in Rio de Janeiro

Two fare systems, one card

Jaé is the municipal ticketing system, and the Bilhete Único Carioca is already enabled on every Jaé card and Jaé account. You can pay a fare straight from your phone with a QR code in the Jaé app, or request a physical card through it, and the same card also gets you onto MetrôRio and through the metro-to-municipal integrations. The metro is nonetheless a separate operator with its own fares and its own ticket types sold at station counters. Ask Jaé on 0800 2121 828 what a card needs if you have not got a CPF yet, because the requirement is not published on the site.

Integration counts modes, not zones

Rio has no zonal fare system. The Bilhete Único Carioca works by mode count: if the journey includes the BRT you may combine up to three municipal modes within three hours of the first validation, travelling in the same direction, for a single fare, and if it does not include the BRT you get two consecutive modes. Eligible modes are the BRT, the VLT, municipal buses and municipal STPL vans, and the BUC works on municipal transport only. Metro journeys sit on MetrôRio's own integration table, which is priced line by line rather than by mode count.

• Two municipal modes on one fare, BRT not involved: R$5,00.
• Metrô plus one of the six integrated bus lines — 319, SV319, 536, 539, 583, 584: R$7,90.
• Metrô plus an ônibus integração line, or the 2101 and 2102 vans between São Conrado and Jardim de Alah: R$8,80.
• Metrô plus BRT: R$9,70, and only at Jardim Oceânico and Vicente de Carvalho.
• A Tarifa Social exists on the metro for eligible low-income residents, and its holders still use the Riocard for metro-to-municipal integrations rather than Jaé.

The network, and Santos Dumont

The metro is three lines. Line 1 runs Uruguai in Tijuca to General Osório in Ipanema by way of Estácio, Central do Brasil and the Copacabana stations; Line 2 runs Pavuna to Botafogo via Inhaúma and Rei Pelé-Maracanã; Line 4 runs General Osório in Ipanema to Jardim Oceânico in Barra da Tijuca by way of Nossa Senhora da Paz, Leblon and São Conrado, sharing track with Line 1 through the Zona Sul. The VLT Carioca covers the centre on four lines at R$5,00 a journey, daily from 05:00 to 23:00, and Terminal Intermodal Gentileza connects BRT TransBrasil services with VLT lines 1 and 4. Santos Dumont, the downtown airport, is served directly by VLT lines 1 and 3 for R$5,00, which makes it the easiest airport connection in the city.

• VLT Line 1 Santos Dumont–Terminal Gentileza; Line 2 Praça XV–Praia Formosa; Line 3 Santos Dumont–Central; Line 4 Praça XV–Terminal Gentileza.
• Terminal Gentileza is where the BRT, VLT lines 1 and 4 and municipal buses meet, and it is where intermunicipal arrivals at Terminal Pedro Fernandes transfer onto the municipal network.
• The municipal bus fare is R$5,00, set by Decreto 57.473 and in force since 4 January 2026. It is also the base from which the other municipal fares and integrations are adjusted.
• Barra is a car district west of Jardim Oceânico. Line 4 terminates there and the BRT corridors serve Barra heavily, so the eastern edge is genuinely connected.
• Connections to Galeão could not be confirmed from a reliable public source. Check the current options at transportes.prefeitura.rio rather than assuming a link exists.

Driving, and the 180-day limit

A foreign licence is valid for a maximum of 180 days from the date of entry into Brazil, provided the licence is itself still valid, where it was issued by a country with reciprocity or a signatory of the 1968 Vienna Convention. After that you need a Brazilian CNH. Converting at DETRAN-RJ is not a formality: you sit the physical and mental aptitude examination, a psychological assessment and a driving assessment, and the document list is long.

• The completed service form, the valid foreign licence with a sworn translation (tradução juramentada), and a photo ID showing nationality and parents' names.
• CPF, passport, the RNM for foreign nationals, and CONARE registration for refugees.
• Proof of residence in Rio de Janeiro, and proof that you lived in the issuing country for at least six months before the licence was issued.
• The DETRAN fee, paid on a DUDA under code 206-2. Payments at Bradesco clear the same day, other banks the next business day.

Cycling, and where to get your information

The public bike-share scheme is Bike Itaú, operated by Tembici. You find a station on the map in the app and create the account there; support is at help.tembici.com. Prices and station counts move, so take them from the app rather than from a third-party page. One caution on sources: the former brtrio.com domain no longer belongs to the operator and now redirects to an unrelated site, so use transportes.prefeitura.rio and the Jaé system for BRT information.