In a huge city like Sao Paulo roads are obviously extremely congested, therefore the subway system is probably the fastest option for getting around in the downtown area. The subway is however limited to a north-south line, which includes the main station, Terminal Tiete; an east-west line; and a short central line below the Avenida Paulista. There are hundreds of buses covering the city, operating from 5am to midnight, but these are generally overcrowded. Taxis are freely available, but standard taxis are unreliable. Radio taxis are more reputable and favoured by tourists; taxis are the best means of transport after dark. Various neighbourhoods in Sao Paulo are easy to negotiate on foot and are usually safe by day.

Buses
The bulk of the public transport (government and private companies) is composed of approximately 17,000 buses (including about 210 trolley buses), coloured uniformily according to the non-central region served (ex.: light green for the buses that go South West, dark blue for the Northern area). Until the past few years, there was a strong presence of informal transport vans (dab vans), but the vast majority of such vans are already fully registered with the city council, legalized and operating under the same color scheme of the main system.

Airports
São Paulo has three airports. In 2005, about 33 million people went through the city's airports (mainly from Congonhas/São Paulo International Airport and São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport, the only two operating commercial flights). Infraero - Brazil's main aviation authority - currently estimates that with the new remodelling of Guarulhos Airport, São Paulo's airports will be able to handle about 45 million passengers a year within the next five years.

Railways
Although currently poorly served by heavy rail services, there is a infrastructure project to build a high-speed railway service linking Brazil's two largest cities, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The trains would go as fast as 280km per hour (the trip would last about 1 hour and 30 minutes). This specific project is still waiting an official announcement by the Brazilian government, who is trying to obtain international financing through a public-private partnership.

Rodoanel
São Paulo grew quickly from the 1940s to the 1980s and many roads and buildings were built without major planning. As a result, heavy traffic is common on the city's main avenues, and traffic jams are relatively common on its largest highways. The main means of commuting into the city is by car and by bus.