What do you need to know about transportation in Sampa
23/05/2013 10:54
I just want to send out some more information about transport in São Paulo – what you need to know before come to your Portuguese Course every week.
SAMPA (nickname!) Visit www.cidadedesaopaulo.com
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil and is the world’s 7th largest metropolitan area. With a population of 11,105,249 residents within an area of 1,523 km2, the city is the largest city in the Southern hemisphere in terms of population.
São Paulo is a heavily congested city with a record of 270 km traffic queue in 2010, 157 km traffic queue in 2011. São Paulo has the world's worst traffic jams.
“Denis Cupertino, a 24-year-old taxi driver from southern Sao Paulo, said he was saving up for a PlayStation to keep him occupied at the wheel. ‘When the traffic stops I'll just switch it on and have a game.’
Traffic jams often stretch to more than 130 miles in greater Sao Paulo, a sprawling megalopolis accommodating around 20 million people and 6 million cars. Last year more cars were sold here than ever before with nearly 1,000 new vehicles hitting the roads each day.”
São Paulo has 6 million cars. In an attempt to reduce traffic volume, the city introduced a Rodízio or rotation system which prohibits certain vehicles (except taxis and public buses) from using public roads on one weekday from 07:00-10:00 and 17:00-20:00. The day is determined by the last digit of the licence plate (last digit 1 or 2: Monday; last digit 3 or 4: Tuesday; last digit 5 or 6: Wednesday; last digit 7 or 8: Thursday; last digit 9 or 0: Friday).
São Paulo has a comprehensive public transport service consisting of metro, train and buses. However, 45% of daily journeys use private cars.
The average commuter in São Paulo spends nearly two hours a day stuck in traffic. We suggest that you use different means of transportation to go to Council or FGV. Choose what is more fast and cheap for that moment. You could call your friend to pay a taxi in some situations or you could take two buses to be in time.
Real-time traffic information (in Portuguese)
BUS/ÔNIBUS
As of March 1, 2012, regular Bilhete Único (Unified ticket) users pay R$3.00 for up to four bus rides in a three hour period. Boarding the train costs R$ 3.00. An integration between the systems allow for up to three bus rides and either a train ride in a three hour period for R$ 4.29, provided that the user boards train in the first two hours. Students and teachers pay half price, while persons with disabilities and seniors have free access.
Remember that hundreds of thousands of Paulistanos depend every day on the bus transportation system though which seems to be highly effective. There are innumerous bus lines and companies that cross the city.
The card is issued at no cost at underground stations; charge them with the minimum amount required in newspaper stands, state-owned betting shops (known as "lotéricas"), supermarkets and other establishments - look for the red, round "Bilhete Único" logo.
TAXI
A taxi from Avenida Paulista to Rua Cardoso de Almeida (Council) will cost as little as R$25 or as much as R$40, depending on traffic. The cheaper, white Taxi Commun (ordinary taxi) charges from R$30 to R$45 for the trip from Council to Jardins. In São Paulo, taxis are divided into three categories: regular, special, and radio-taxi. Special and radio-taxis are more expensive, but you contact them by phone. In general, fare 1 (regular) applies from 6 am to 10 pm whereas fare 2 applies the rest of the time.
If is possible take a look in a map before you take a taxi – It’s good find the the easiest (and cheapest) way.
That´s one of those things that you feel bad for being the last to know that exists, but still glad you´ve found it It´s a website that let you calculate how much you will spend with a taxi run. We are not sure how accurate it is.
https://www.tarifadetaxi.com/sao-paulo
SUBWAY/METRÔ
Taking the subway is a good way of dribbling traffic. São Paulo presents one of the subways networks most modern in the world, being 57.6 km long divided into four lines with 52 stations. Subways run every day - including Saturday, Sunday, and holidays- from 4.40 am to midnight. The subway it is very clean, efficient, and safe and the stations are easy to find at workdays a train runs every 60 seconds. The problem is that the stations (and trains) may get pretty full at rush hours (3,5 million passengers every day), it is uncomfortably full but just that, nothing to be afraid of.
You can download a subway pocket map from here:
https://www.metro.sp.gov.br/informacao/mapa/mapa_bolso.shtml
Line 1 - Blue: The first Metrô line built connects the North and the South Side of São Paulo. Connections are available for the Green, Red and Yellow lines and also for CPTM trains. Tietê and Jabaquara bus terminals are also reachable through the use of this line.
Line 2 - Green: The Green line transverses the Avenida Paulista ridge, connecting Ipiranga to Vila Madalena, and also integrating the Blue and Yellow lines.
Line 3 - Red: One of São Paulo's busiest lines, it connects the East Side to the West Side. Connections to the Blue and Yellow lines are possible, as are with CPTM trains. The Barra Funda bus terminal is located on this line.
Line 4 - Yellow The Yellow line connects the central Luz station to the South side in a route constructed immediately below the Consolação and Rebouças avenues. Connections are available to the Blue, Green and Red lines and to CPTM trains.
Line 5 - Lilac: Built for users who need to reach specific places in São Paulo's South Side. Only a short distance of the line is already available (six complete stations), connecting to CPTM trains at Santo Amaro station.
Line 6 - Orange (planned): Announced in 2008 and scheduled to be open in 2012, the Orange Line will connect the borough of Freguesia do Ó, in the northwestern side of the city to downtown São Paulo. It will be connected to the subway lines 1 and 4, as well as the line 7 of CPTM.
Peek hour
“Daily use of public transport may be quite stressful to Paulistanos; many take more than 2 hours to get to work or school! As consequence, manners are often left aside on train and metro, and on peak hours, pushes are common. When boarding, walk as far as possible into the train after the door opens, and if you wish to wait for the next train, step outside of the boarding area immediately. Otherwise, you may end up being forcefully pushed into the train.
Inside of the train, it is not uncommon to have a lot of people blocking the way to the door, even if they are not leaving the train in the next station. Unless it is a hub station, politely ask Vai descer aqui? (Are you going to step out here?) to make people move on for you to get out.
As weird (or stupid) as it may seem, Paulistanos do not typically wait for people to get out of the train before getting in. If you are confronted with a mass of people outside when stepping out, walk vigorously, otherwise they may end up pushing you back.”
https://wikitravel.org/en/S%C3%A3o_Paulo
TurisMetrô
“They offer a variety of city tours every weekend. The tours are mostly walking but with some use of the metro. There is no charge but you will need to take some money with you to buy metro tickets during the tour as necessary. Tours start at the TurisMetrô desk in Sé metro station at 9am and 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays; you need to arrive half an hour earlier to sign up. The desk is inside the ticket barriers, so if you arrive by metro don't leave the station while looking for the desk or you'll have to pay for an extra ticket to get back in, and if you're already in the area you will have to pay for a ticket to gain access to the desk, although you will use it to make the first journey of the tour so it's not wasted. The guides speak English.” (https://wikitravel.org)
CPTM (surface trains)
Line 7 - Ruby: Formerly the northern part of the ancient São Paulo Railway, it connects the Luz station downtown to the city of Francisco Morato, crossing all of the northwestern side of the city. An operational extension connects Francisco Morato to the city of Jundiaí. This is the longest line of the railway system in São Paulo.
Line 8 - Diamond: Formerly part of the ancient Estrada de Ferro Sorocabana, it connects the Julio Prestes station downtown to Itapevi, going across the western side of the city. An operational extension with another train links this line to four more stations in Itapevi. The last station (Amador Bueno) is placed near the border with São Roque. The Julio Prestes station houses the State of the Art concert hall Sala Cidade de São Paulo.
Line 9 - Emerald: It's located along the Nações Unidas Avenue (Marginal Pinheiros), and connects the region of the Interlagos Speedway to the neighbouring city of Osasco. Presently, it makes the only connection with the subway Line 5 - Lilac.
Line 10 - Turquoise: Formerly the southern part of the ancient São Paulo Railway, it's actually a continuation of the Line 7 - Ruby, and crosses the ABC Region.
Line 11 - Coral: Also known as "Expresso Leste" (East Express), it crosses all the eastern side of São Paulo from downtown, to Guaianases. It is within the largest distance between two stations (between Tatuapé and Itaquera) in all the railway net.
Line 12 - Sapphire: It crosses the northeastern side of São Paulo, from the Brás station downtown until the city of Itaquaquecetuba.
STAY SAFE (https://wikitravel.org/en/S%C3%A3o_Paulo)
Two of the most visited areas, Downtown and the Pinheiros sub prefecture (in the West), have respectively 150% and 50% more violent crime than the city average. Check the individual district listings for safety advice in each area of the city.
- Visitors should avoid walking in deserted areas at night, or at least avoid walking alone. Buses are reasonably safe, but waiting alone at a bus stop at night is not. The metro is always safe, but commuter trains that go to peripheral areas can be dangerous late at night. Be extremely careful when using ATMs at night (or better, do not use them if they are located in a deserted and dark places, if you really need one, try searching in places like shopping malls, theaters and cinemas and gas stations).
- Some areas can be dangerous even during the day. These include run-down areas, like favelas and areas populated by drug addicts. The last can be easily recognized by the presence of poorly maintained buildings, bad odor, and dirty streets - there are many of those in the Historic Center. Most drug addicts are harmless, but a few may resort to violence to get money to buy their drugs.
- Contrary to popular belief, nowadays poor neighborhoods in São Paulo aren't usually dangerous, at least not more dangerous than an ordinary neighborhood. Still, some of them can be dangerous, so if you are in doubt, don't go or have the company of a local.
And naturally, every safety recommendation that applies to big cities in general also applies to São Paulo:
§ Don't trust strangers, especially those who seem excessively helpful;
§ Always prefer the help of an identified officer or employee than that of a stranger;
§ Watch your belongings all the time in crowded streets or public transportation;
§ Avoid withdrawing and carrying large amounts of money;
§ Avoid using expensive clothes and jewelry that make you stand out.
Take a look on this site to know the best things to do in São Paulo. It’s very interesting! https://www.timeout.com.br/sao-paulo/en