São Paulo has a rather good transportation system. You can go anywhere in the city by metro, bus or train. By knowing the basic info about the system, you will be able to get around the city quite easily.
Bus system in São Paulo
The first thing you have to know is that no bus map exists in São Paulo. In order to plan your route to go from point A to point B, you have to use one of many São Paulo applications like Google Map, Moovit or Cadê meu ônibus.
Every bus has a basic map on the side of it that shows that buses main route, so you can get an idea of where the bus will go.
The bus costs R$3.80 and every time you take a bus, you have to pay R$3.80.
SÃO PAULO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
Metro System in São Paulo
The metro system has been under construction for 15 years and it is far from being finished. It is currently composed of 5 lines (1-5). Line 4 is completely automatic; it opens at 4:40am and closes at 00:20 am (1:20 am on Saturdays). However each different metro station opens and closes at a different time. You can also get around São Paulo by trains (CPTM) that go to the suburban areas. CPTM trains are not as frequent as metro lines. Transfers between metro and CPTM are free.
One way tickets cost R$3.80.
Bilhete Único, the public transportation card
Just like in London with the oyster card, you can buy a bilhete único in any metro station. It costs R$21 which is then converted into credit for public transportation. To use the card you simply put money on it (which can be done in any metro station) and then everytime you take a bus or metro the card is debited and when it runs out you reload it.
A route combining the metro and an omnibus will cost R$5.15 with the bilhete único. Students that live more than 1km from their university can benefit from buying a bilhete único estudante because each traject will cost R$1.75.