Public transportation in Rio de Janeiro includes city buses, intercity buses, minibuses, metro (subway/underground), bicycles and trains. To get around in Rio, you might need to take a combination of these means of transportation.
Metro (underground or subway)
Rio de Janeiro subway is fast, clean, safe and crowded during rush hours (early- to mid-morning and mid-afternoon to mid-evening on weekdays). For a traveler visiting Rio, the subway might be a good option to go to/from Ipanema, Copacabana and Centro (downtown). Beware that you can not get to some classic landmarks such as Jesus Statue and Sugar Loaf Mountain by subway though. View map of Rio de Janeiro Subway to see the big picture.
The subway single- and round-trip tickets are expensive, US$ 1.60 and US$ 3.20, respectively. There are no day or weekend passes for visitors.
City Bus
Public buses in Rio de Janeiro are also clean, modern and fast (rather too fast if the driver takes a free lane — very common). There is plenty of buses in Rio — more than 7.000! Bus ride fares are slightly cheaper than the subway and there is no day/week/weekend tourist pass either.
Intercity Bus
There is plenty of intercity buses (which are actually owned by private companies) to go from Rio de Janeiro to almost any destination in Brazil. However, as Brazil is huge, intercity buses (which are rather inexpensive, but very good) are ideal for less-than-6-hours trips such as Búzios and Paraty. Otherwise, it is better to take a low cost flight.
Minibuses
These 15-passenger white minibus are the ideal mean of transportation to go to/from Leme, Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon. They are fast, reliable and full of Cariocas (Rio’s natives). They run day and night on the beach front avenues and cost US$ 1.3, which make them a great alternative to taxis.
Bicycles
Rio’s public bicycles can be seen a mile away. They are getting very popular among locals and Brazilian tourists. On the positive side, they are inexpensive; on the negative side though, it is hard to find one available on sunny weekends in the summer. So, it may be better to rent one from a private shop.
Trains
A tourist visiting Rio de Janeiro rarely takes a train. Trains connect Centro (downtown — the business district) to the suburbs and they are used mainly by locals commuting to work on weekdays. There are very few places of interest in the suburbs for the average tourist (and there are hardly any intercity trains in Brazil — at least none departing from Rio de Janeiro).
Are you travelling to Brazil in the near future? Learn the insider’s tips on public transportation as well as on important travel information in My Rio Travel Guide – The Essential How-To Visitor’s Guide to Rio de Janeiro.