1001 Smart Cities
🇧🇷 São Paulo

Bilhete Único: São Paulo's three-hour bus and rail fare integration

🤖 AI-generated summary · ◆ 11 sourced claims · 🔎 Last verified

This overview was generated with AI from the public sources listed below and checked against them before publication. It has not had a complete human fact-check — treat it as a starting point and follow the sources.

11 sourced claims on this page, none individually verified yet — turn on “Sources in the text” to see each one.

How this atlas is made · What “last verified” means · What “source-checked” means · The full record behind this page

✎ Corrected 23 Aug 2026 1 source added. · 2 revisions in all What changed →

One fare of R$9.38 buys three bus boardings in three hours plus a train. Tap a Visa or Mastercard instead and you buy a single ride, never a transfer: the card from 2004 still owns the rule.

Outcome🔄 Ongoing
Evidence🏛️ Official
what does this mean?The strongest source is the operator's or the city's own reporting — an official report, dataset or press release. It grades who did the looking — not how well the project went. All four grades →
Run bySão Paulo Transporte S/A (SPTrans), Secretaria Municipal de Mobilidade e Transporte; rail integration with the state-run Metrô de São Paulo and CPTM
Scale🏙️ City-wide
Cost≈R$15M for the 2005 bus-rail integration rollout, split evenly between city and state
FundingCity of São Paulo (SPTrans, fare revenue plus municipal subsidy); the 2005 rail integration cost was shared with the state government

Part of 1001 Smart Cities — 1,167 documented projects · 🏙️ 10 more in São Paulo · 🚌 Public transport guide · 🚲 Mobility projects

São Paulo's contactless Bilhete Único launched on 18 May 2004, letting riders board several municipal buses on one fare within two hours; the state-run Metro and CPTM trains were added from 2006 and the bus window widened to three hours in 2008. In January 2026 an integrated fare of R$9.38 buys up to three bus boardings in three hours plus one rail boarding in the first two. Ordinary bank cards work at Metro turnstiles since December 2025 and on 12 bus lines since 2019, but a bank tap buys no transfers. Fraud is chronic: SPTrans blocked 123,700 cards for irregular credit use in the first five months of 2025.

Live 📅 since 2004

📊 Impact

One integrated fare of R$9.38 (rates effective 6 January 2026) covers up to three municipal bus boardings within three hours plus one Metro or CPTM boarding in the first two hours; bought separately a bus fare is R$5.30 and a rail fare R$5.40. A monthly integrated pass costs R$411.13 for ten boardings a day over 31 days. Municipal buses have been free every Sunday since 17 December 2023, which the city put at about R$280 million a year in forgone fare revenue.

🎓 Lesson

Open-loop bank cards are the easy half of ticketing. São Paulo has carried transfer rules across a municipal bus operator and a state rail operator since 2006 on a proprietary card, and seven years after its bank-card pilot began it still cannot do the same with a bank card: tapping Visa or Mastercard buys one ride, never an integration. Whoever owns the transfer rule owns the fare system.

🚲 MobilityPublic transportSmart ticketing

Sources

↗ SPTrans — Tarifas (fares effective 6 January 2026)Updated 6 January 2026 archived copyOperator fare table. Integrated common credit R$9,38: 'permite até três embarques em ônibus diferentes, no período de três horas, e um embarque no Metrô/Trem, nas duas primeiras horas' ('allows up to three boardings on different buses within three hours, and one Metro/train boarding in the first two hours'). Bus-only R$5,30; rail-only R$5,40; VT integrated R$11,32; monthly integrated R$411,13, which 'dá direito a dez embarques/dia durante 31 dias corridos' ('gives the right to ten boardings a day for 31 consecutive days'). Also lists 'Gratuidade aos domingos: R$ 0,00' ('free on Sundays').
↗ SPTrans — Bilhete Único Comum, rules of use archived copyOperator rulebook: 'Até 4 embarques em ônibus diferentes, no período de três horas, com o pagamento de uma tarifa de Ônibus Comum' ('up to 4 boardings on different buses within three hours on one common bus fare') and 'Um embarque no sistema trilhos (Metrô/CPTM) e até 3 embarques em ônibus diferentes no período de 3 horas' ('one rail boarding plus up to 3 boardings on different buses within 3 hours'), the rail leg 'durante as duas primeiras horas' ('during the first two hours').
↗ Prefeitura de São Paulo — Bilhete Único completa 10 anos (19 May 2014)City retrospective, source for the launch date and the rail integration year: 'Quando foi lançado, em 18 de maio de 2004' ('when it was launched, on 18 May 2004') and 'A partir de 2006, o Bilhete Único passou a ser utilizado também pelos passageiros da CPTM e do Metrô' ('from 2006 the Bilhete Único came to be used also by CPTM and Metro passengers'). It adds that 43 million cards were issued in the first ten years.
↗ Prefeitura de São Paulo — Integração do Bilhete Único com metrô e trens da CPTM começa em novembro (2 September 2005) archived copyAnnouncement of the bus-rail integration: 'A integração será implantada progressivamente a partir do final de novembro' ('the integration will be rolled out progressively from the end of November') and 'o custo será de R$ 15 milhões, divididos igualmente entre Prefeitura e Estado' ('the cost will be R$15 million, split equally between the city and the state'). Source of the cost figure; the city's own 2014 retrospective dates passenger use from 2006, so the entry uses 2006.
↗ Prefeitura de São Paulo — Uso do Bilhete Único é ampliado de 2 para 3 horas (28 July 2008)Dates the extension of the transfer window: 'Entrou em vigor nesta segunda-feira (28/07)' ('came into force this Monday, 28/07'), affecting '6 milhões de passageiros que podem fazer até quatro viagens pagando apenas uma passagem' ('6 million passengers who can make up to four trips paying only one fare'). This correction matters: the extension is widely misattributed to the 2014 Haddad administration, which in fact launched the separate monthly and daily temporal passes.
Show 8 more sourcesShow fewer
↗ Prefeitura de São Paulo / SMT — pilot for contactless bank-card fare payment on buses (17 September 2019)Pilot began 16 September 2019 on 12 bus lines, planned for three months or 500,000 transactions. Key limit: 'Nesta primeira fase do projeto não haverá a integração tarifária com outros ônibus ou com os sistemas de trilhos' ('in this first phase there will be no fare integration with other buses or with the rail systems'), plus a cap of 'ligado 5 passagens em meia hora e 10 passagens por dia' ('5 fares in half an hour and 10 fares a day').
↗ SPTrans — Pagamento da tarifa com cartão de débito e crédito (current) archived copyOperator page still listing the same 12 lines plus 3 terminals and 6 Expresso Tiradentes stations seven years after the pilot began, and stating 'O pagamento por essa tecnologia não permite integração tarifária com outros ônibus ou com outros modais' ('payment by this technology does not allow fare integration with other buses or other modes'). Canonical URL without the accent: https://www.sptrans.com.br/pagamento-da-tarifa-com-cartao-de-debito-e-credito/
↗ Metrô de São Paulo — Bilhetes e Cartões archived copyState operator page confirming the two-administration governance: the municipal Bilhete Único carries bus-rail integration credit, while the state Cartão TOP works on rail and on intermunicipal EMTU buses 'com redução tarifária no segundo embarque' ('with a fare reduction on the second boarding'). Municipal and state instruments remain distinct.
↗ Diário do Transporte — Catracas do Metrô passam a aceitar pagamento por aproximação em todas as linhas (1 December 2025)Independent trade press, replacing the operator's own post at metro.sp.gov.br which returns 404. Establishes the December 2025 open-loop rollout and its limits: physical Mastercard, Visa and Elo cards only, with virtual cards on phones and smartwatches not accepted in this first phase; at least one dedicated turnstile per station; lines 1 and 3 first, lines 2 and 15 during December; the same card usable again only after a 30-minute interval; and a pilot of six months, extendable. No fare integration with buses is claimed anywhere, which is the point this entry rests on. An engineering-association summary (aeamesp.org.br, 3 December 2025) asserts that Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay work — that contradicts the operator and the trade press and was not used.
↗ Prefeitura de São Paulo — Cidade de São Paulo terá Tarifa Zero nos ônibus aos domingos (11 December 2023) archived copyFree Sunday travel from 17 December 2023 on all SPTrans municipal lines, explicitly not covering rail: 'Não há necessidade de integração com o sistema metroferroviário' ('there is no need for integration with the metro-rail system'). Forgone revenue put at 'R$ 280 milhões no ano' ('R$280 million a year'). Independently corroborated by the current SPTrans fare table.
↗ Diário do Transporte — TCM audit finds the Bilhete Único system outdated and insecure (11 July 2019) archived copyTrade press reporting the Tribunal de Contas do Município audit: 'o sistema de Bilhete Único da cidade tem tecnologia ultrapassada e insegura, o que possibilita fraudes' ('the city's Bilhete Único system uses outdated and insecure technology, which enables fraud'); 'o software do Bilhete Único é de 2004, desde sua criação, e é vulnerável a várias fraudes'; '60% dos cartões em circulação são de tecnologia já ultrapassada, mas os 40% restantes também têm vulnerabilidade' ('60% of cards in circulation use already outdated technology, but the remaining 40% are also vulnerable'). The R$100 million modernisation figure is attributed in the article to a news report, not to the audit.
↗ Jornal de Brasília / Agência Estado — SPTrans registrou quase 100 boletins de ocorrência contra fraudes em bilhete único em 2025 (10 June 2025) archived copySource of the 2025 fraud figures: 'SPTrans registrou neste ano 99 boletins de ocorrência em delegacias da capital contra fraudes no bilhete único' ('SPTrans filed 99 police reports this year against Bilhete Único fraud') and 'nos cinco primeiros meses do ano, 123,7 mil cartões acabaram bloqueados por uso irregular de crédito' ('in the first five months of the year, 123,700 cards were blocked for irregular use of credit'), with seven arrests.
↗ Portal de Dados Abertos da Prefeitura de São Paulo — SPTrans datasets archived copySPTrans publishes five datasets under Creative Commons CCZero (CC0): payroll, cash flow, code of conduct, 'Créditos Eletrônicos do Bilhete Único' (outstanding card credit by card type) and the tariff cost spreadsheet. No boarding-level, origin-destination or transaction ride data is published, which is why this entry carries no open-data tag.

📅 How old is the evidence?

Two clocks, kept apart: when this entry’s sources were published, and what has happened to its record in the atlas. Documented span: since 2004. 3 of 13 sources carry a publication date, from 11 July 2019 to 1 December 2025.

When the sources were published

  1. Diário do Transporte · pressDiário do Transporte — TCM audit finds the Bilhete Único system outdated and insecure (11 July 2019)
  2. Jornal de Brasília · pressJornal de Brasília / Agência Estado — SPTrans registrou quase 100 boletins de ocorrência contra fraudes em bilhete único em 2025 (10 June 2025)
  3. Diário do Transporte · pressDiário do Transporte — Catracas do Metrô passam a aceitar pagamento por aproximação em todas as linhas (1 December 2025)

Every source, with links ↑

What happened to this record

  1. Sources last read
  2. Entered the record
  3. Publication date recorded for 13 sources
  4. 1 source added

Every revision, permanent →

Show your work What this page rests on and what it can’t tell you · all 11 claims with their sources · the forensic record

Evidence Passport · public beta 11 addressable claims, 13 source dossiers, one permanent baseline. The passport is unreviewed — an AI-assisted structural migration, not a human or expert endorsement. Every revision keeps a permanent copy under revision history.

Inspect the claims, one by one — verbatim text, sources and caveats for all 11

The text below is copied verbatim from the published record. Each claim names the source dossiers that carry it; caveats stay attached to the claim they qualify.

Claim 1 clm-671ce8303502765a quantitative
São Paulo's contactless Bilhete Único launched on 18 May 2004
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The city's own tenth-anniversary retrospective dates it: 'Quando foi lançado, em 18 de maio de 2004' ('when it was launched, on 18 May 2004'), and records 43 million cards issued in the first ten years.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Prefeitura de São Paulo — Bilhete Único completa 10 anos (19 May 2014)
Claim 2 clm-11a96387d2d80af6 quantitative
the state-run Metro and CPTM trains were added from 2006
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The city's retrospective states 'A partir de 2006, o Bilhete Único passou a ser utilizado também pelos passageiros da CPTM e do Metrô' ('from 2006 the Bilhete Único came to be used also by CPTM and Metro passengers'). The 2005 announcement gives the mechanics and the price of joining two administrations: rollout 'progressivamente a partir do final de novembro', at 'R$ 15 milhões, divididos igualmente entre Prefeitura e Estado' — split equally between city and state.
Caveat
The announcement dates the rollout from late November 2005; the entry follows the city's own retrospective and says passengers used it from 2006.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Prefeitura de São Paulo — Bilhete Único completa 10 anos (19 May 2014)
  2. Prefeitura de São Paulo — Integração do Bilhete Único com metrô e trens da CPTM começa em novembro (2 September 2005)
Claim 3 clm-26e9ec3b208a3736 quantitative
the bus window widened to three hours in 2008
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The city dates the extension precisely — 'Entrou em vigor nesta segunda-feira (28/07)' ('came into force this Monday, 28/07') — affecting '6 milhões de passageiros que podem fazer até quatro viagens pagando apenas uma passagem'.
Caveat
The extension is widely misattributed to the 2014 Haddad administration, which in fact launched the separate monthly and daily temporal passes. The entry follows the 2008 municipal announcement.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Prefeitura de São Paulo — Uso do Bilhete Único é ampliado de 2 para 3 horas (28 July 2008)
Claim 4 clm-554cbb91e2cb27f2 quantitative
Ordinary bank cards work at Metro turnstiles since December 2025 and on 12 bus lines since 2019, but a bank tap buys no transfers
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The operator's own current page states the limit outright — 'O pagamento por essa tecnologia não permite integração tarifária com outros ônibus ou com outros modais' ('payment by this technology does not allow fare integration with other buses or other modes') — and still lists the same 12 lines the 2019 pilot began with. The December 2025 rail rollout claims no bus integration anywhere.
Caveat
The rail rollout has its own limits: physical Mastercard, Visa and Elo cards only in this first phase, at least one dedicated turnstile per station, and the same card usable again only after a 30-minute interval. An engineering-association summary asserting that Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay work contradicts the operator and the trade press, and was not used.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Diário do Transporte — Catracas do Metrô passam a aceitar pagamento por aproximação em todas as linhas (1 December 2025)
  2. SPTrans — Pagamento da tarifa com cartão de débito e crédito (current)
  3. Prefeitura de São Paulo / SMT — pilot for contactless bank-card fare payment on buses (17 September 2019)
Claim 5 clm-60099d2e1d53407d quantitative
SPTrans blocked 123,700 cards for irregular credit use in the first five months of 2025
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The 2025 report states 'nos cinco primeiros meses do ano, 123,7 mil cartões acabaram bloqueados por uso irregular de crédito', alongside 99 police reports and seven arrests. The city audit court had already found the underlying cause: 'o software do Bilhete Único é de 2004, desde sua criação, e é vulnerável a várias fraudes', with 60% of circulating cards on outdated technology and the remaining 40% also vulnerable.
Caveat
The R$100 million modernisation figure that circulates with the audit is attributed in the reporting to a news report, not to the audit itself, and is not used here.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Jornal de Brasília / Agência Estado — SPTrans registrou quase 100 boletins de ocorrência contra fraudes em bilhete único em 2025 (10 June 2025)
  2. Diário do Transporte — TCM audit finds the Bilhete Único system outdated and insecure (11 July 2019)
Claim 6 clm-fc5471d1ac587eb1 quantitative
One integrated fare of R$9.38 (rates effective 6 January 2026) covers up to three municipal bus boardings within three hours plus one Metro or CPTM boarding in the first two hours
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The operator's fare table sets the integrated credit at R$9,38 and defines what it buys: 'permite até três embarques em ônibus diferentes, no período de três horas, e um embarque no Metrô/Trem, nas duas primeiras horas'. The rulebook restates it as 'Um embarque no sistema trilhos (Metrô/CPTM) e até 3 embarques em ônibus diferentes no período de 3 horas', the rail leg 'durante as duas primeiras horas'.
Caveat
Bus-only travel is more generous than the integrated fare: the rulebook allows 'Até 4 embarques em ônibus diferentes' on one common bus fare. Adding rail costs one of the bus boardings.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. SPTrans — Tarifas (fares effective 6 January 2026)
  2. SPTrans — Bilhete Único Comum, rules of use
Claim 7 clm-e2298c5fd5a80576 quantitative
bought separately a bus fare is R$5.30 and a rail fare R$5.40
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The same fare table lists bus-only at R$5,30 and rail-only at R$5,40 — so the integrated fare of R$9,38 is less than the two bought apart, which is the discount the transfer rule buys.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. SPTrans — Tarifas (fares effective 6 January 2026)
Claim 8 clm-35b8c60dea92d1dc quantitative
A monthly integrated pass costs R$411.13 for ten boardings a day over 31 days
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The fare table lists the monthly integrated pass at R$411,13, which 'dá direito a dez embarques/dia durante 31 dias corridos' ('gives the right to ten boardings a day for 31 consecutive days').
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. SPTrans — Tarifas (fares effective 6 January 2026)
Claim 9 clm-8e9ae7ff2dca86ad quantitative
Municipal buses have been free every Sunday since 17 December 2023, which the city put at about R$280 million a year in forgone fare revenue
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The city announced free Sunday travel from 17 December 2023 on all SPTrans municipal lines and put the forgone revenue at 'R$ 280 milhões no ano'. The current fare table corroborates that it still holds, listing 'Gratuidade aos domingos: R$ 0,00'.
Caveat
It covers buses only. The announcement is explicit that rail is outside it: 'Não há necessidade de integração com o sistema metroferroviário'.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Prefeitura de São Paulo — Cidade de São Paulo terá Tarifa Zero nos ônibus aos domingos (11 December 2023)
  2. SPTrans — Tarifas (fares effective 6 January 2026)
Claim 10 clm-8f732cdded6706a4 quantitative
São Paulo has carried transfer rules across a municipal bus operator and a state rail operator since 2006 on a proprietary card
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The two administrations remain distinct instruments: the state operator's page carries the municipal Bilhete Único for bus-rail integration credit while its own Cartão TOP works on rail and on intermunicipal EMTU buses 'com redução tarifária no segundo embarque'. The integration itself dates from 2006 on the city's own account.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Metrô de São Paulo — Bilhetes e Cartões
  2. Prefeitura de São Paulo — Bilhete Único completa 10 anos (19 May 2014)
Claim 11 clm-3112c4545f12ed36 descriptive
seven years after its bank-card pilot began it still cannot do the same with a bank card: tapping Visa or Mastercard buys one ride, never an integration
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The 2019 pilot began on 16 September on 12 bus lines and said so from the start: 'Nesta primeira fase do projeto não haverá a integração tarifária com outros ônibus ou com os sistemas de trilhos.' The operator's current page still lists those 12 lines plus 3 terminals and 6 Expresso Tiradentes stations, and still says the technology allows no fare integration.
Caveat
'First phase' language from 2019 has not been superseded by any later operator statement found; the entry treats the limit as current because the operator's own live page repeats it.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Prefeitura de São Paulo / SMT — pilot for contactless bank-card fare payment on buses (17 September 2019)
  2. SPTrans — Pagamento da tarifa com cartão de débito e crédito (current)
Forensic record — source dossiers, gaps, hashes and the exact revision this page renders

This layer records what is known about each source, what is still missing, and the exact snapshot this page is rendering. A missing date, archive or hash stays visible as missing.

unreviewed Revision 2026-08-23-source-url-correction effective 2026-07-26 · created 2026-08-23

Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither.

sha256:0e4555ce9f5d89f7f419f6d397cc53f86c2dd7389aeb4ad44d9f75c112ca83b6
Revision history → Permanent version link → Machine-readable record → Evidence Constitution →
11
of 11 claims mapped
13
source dossiers
8
publication dates recorded
8
archives linked
0
exact locators
0
content captures hashed

Governance facts carried by the record

Operator
São Paulo Transporte S/A (SPTrans), Secretaria Municipal de Mobilidade e Transporte; rail integration with the state-run Metrô de São Paulo and CPTM
Actor types
utility, city-government
Funding model
public
Funding description
City of São Paulo (SPTrans, fare revenue plus municipal subsidy); the 2005 rail integration cost was shared with the state government
Cost
≈R$15M for the 2005 bus-rail integration rollout, split evenly between city and state
Ownership
Not recorded
Decision rights
Not recorded
Exit conditions
Not recorded

13 source dossiers

SPTrans — Tarifas (fares effective 6 January 2026) sptrans.com.br · 4 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-d078e86397b7c0d9
Publisher
Name not classified · sptrans.com.br
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
2026-01-06
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-23
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
Open archived copy ↗ · 2026-08-18
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Operator fare table. Integrated common credit R$9,38: 'permite até três embarques em ônibus diferentes, no período de três horas, e um embarque no Metrô/Trem, nas duas primeiras horas' ('allows up to three boardings on different buses within three hours, and one Metro/train boarding in the first two hours'). Bus-only R$5,30; rail-only R$5,40; VT integrated R$11,32; monthly integrated R$411,13, which 'dá direito a dez embarques/dia durante 31 dias corridos' ('gives the right to ten boardings a day for 31 consecutive days'). Also lists 'Gratuidade aos domingos: R$ 0,00' ('free on Sundays').

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
SPTrans — Bilhete Único Comum, rules of use bilheteunico.sptrans.com.br · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-a799b4aade27bf7f
Publisher
Name not classified · bilheteunico.sptrans.com.br
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-23
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
Open archived copy ↗ · 2026-07-29
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Operator rulebook: 'Até 4 embarques em ônibus diferentes, no período de três horas, com o pagamento de uma tarifa de Ônibus Comum' ('up to 4 boardings on different buses within three hours on one common bus fare') and 'Um embarque no sistema trilhos (Metrô/CPTM) e até 3 embarques em ônibus diferentes no período de 3 horas' ('one rail boarding plus up to 3 boardings on different buses within 3 hours'), the rail leg 'durante as duas primeiras horas' ('during the first two hours').

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Prefeitura de São Paulo — Bilhete Único completa 10 anos (19 May 2014) prefeitura.sp.gov.br · 3 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-2b8fbba79abdadb1
Publisher
Name not classified · prefeitura.sp.gov.br
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2014-05-19
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-23
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

City retrospective, source for the launch date and the rail integration year: 'Quando foi lançado, em 18 de maio de 2004' ('when it was launched, on 18 May 2004') and 'A partir de 2006, o Bilhete Único passou a ser utilizado também pelos passageiros da CPTM e do Metrô' ('from 2006 the Bilhete Único came to be used also by CPTM and Metro passengers'). It adds that 43 million cards were issued in the first ten years.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Prefeitura de São Paulo — Integração do Bilhete Único com metrô e trens da CPTM começa em novembro (2 September 2005) prefeitura.sp.gov.br · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-7617db82c623807a
Publisher
Name not classified · prefeitura.sp.gov.br
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2005-09-02
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-23
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
Open archived copy ↗ · 2025-12-24
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Announcement of the bus-rail integration: 'A integração será implantada progressivamente a partir do final de novembro' ('the integration will be rolled out progressively from the end of November') and 'o custo será de R$ 15 milhões, divididos igualmente entre Prefeitura e Estado' ('the cost will be R$15 million, split equally between the city and the state'). Source of the cost figure; the city's own 2014 retrospective dates passenger use from 2006, so the entry uses 2006.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Prefeitura de São Paulo — Uso do Bilhete Único é ampliado de 2 para 3 horas (28 July 2008) prefeitura.sp.gov.br · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-3e154645ea262e4a
Publisher
Name not classified · prefeitura.sp.gov.br
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2008-07-28
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-23
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Dates the extension of the transfer window: 'Entrou em vigor nesta segunda-feira (28/07)' ('came into force this Monday, 28/07'), affecting '6 milhões de passageiros que podem fazer até quatro viagens pagando apenas uma passagem' ('6 million passengers who can make up to four trips paying only one fare'). This correction matters: the extension is widely misattributed to the 2014 Haddad administration, which in fact launched the separate monthly and daily temporal passes.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Prefeitura de São Paulo / SMT — pilot for contactless bank-card fare payment on buses (17 September 2019) prefeitura.sp.gov.br · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-49f431407482de0c
Publisher
Name not classified · prefeitura.sp.gov.br
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2019-09-17
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-23
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Pilot began 16 September 2019 on 12 bus lines, planned for three months or 500,000 transactions. Key limit: 'Nesta primeira fase do projeto não haverá a integração tarifária com outros ônibus ou com os sistemas de trilhos' ('in this first phase there will be no fare integration with other buses or with the rail systems'), plus a cap of 'ligado 5 passagens em meia hora e 10 passagens por dia' ('5 fares in half an hour and 10 fares a day').

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
SPTrans — Pagamento da tarifa com cartão de débito e crédito (current) sptrans.com.br · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-0118069f8ccf7869
Publisher
Name not classified · sptrans.com.br
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-23
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Operator page still listing the same 12 lines plus 3 terminals and 6 Expresso Tiradentes stations seven years after the pilot began, and stating 'O pagamento por essa tecnologia não permite integração tarifária com outros ônibus ou com outros modais' ('payment by this technology does not allow fare integration with other buses or other modes'). Canonical URL without the accent: https://www.sptrans.com.br/pagamento-da-tarifa-com-cartao-de-debito-e-credito/

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Metrô de São Paulo — Bilhetes e Cartões metro.sp.gov.br · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-845094ffdc37d9f4
Publisher
Name not classified · metro.sp.gov.br
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-23
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
Open archived copy ↗ · 2026-07-12
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

State operator page confirming the two-administration governance: the municipal Bilhete Único carries bus-rail integration credit, while the state Cartão TOP works on rail and on intermunicipal EMTU buses 'com redução tarifária no segundo embarque' ('with a fare reduction on the second boarding'). Municipal and state instruments remain distinct.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Diário do Transporte — Catracas do Metrô passam a aceitar pagamento por aproximação em todas as linhas (1 December 2025) diariodotransporte.com.br · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-db350623e9269eb0
Publisher
Name not classified · diariodotransporte.com.br
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2025-12-01
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-23
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Independent trade press, replacing the operator's own post at metro.sp.gov.br which returns 404. Establishes the December 2025 open-loop rollout and its limits: physical Mastercard, Visa and Elo cards only, with virtual cards on phones and smartwatches not accepted in this first phase; at least one dedicated turnstile per station; lines 1 and 3 first, lines 2 and 15 during December; the same card usable again only after a 30-minute interval; and a pilot of six months, extendable. No fare integration with buses is claimed anywhere, which is the point this entry rests on. An engineering-association summary (aeamesp.org.br, 3 December 2025) asserts that Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay work — that contradicts the operator and the trade press and was not used.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Prefeitura de São Paulo — Cidade de São Paulo terá Tarifa Zero nos ônibus aos domingos (11 December 2023) prefeitura.sp.gov.br · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-c9c3b947b7ba1fb3
Publisher
Name not classified · prefeitura.sp.gov.br
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2023-12-11
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-23
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
Open archived copy ↗ · 2026-06-06
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Free Sunday travel from 17 December 2023 on all SPTrans municipal lines, explicitly not covering rail: 'Não há necessidade de integração com o sistema metroferroviário' ('there is no need for integration with the metro-rail system'). Forgone revenue put at 'R$ 280 milhões no ano' ('R$280 million a year'). Independently corroborated by the current SPTrans fare table.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Diário do Transporte — TCM audit finds the Bilhete Único system outdated and insecure (11 July 2019) diariodotransporte.com.br · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-8928d99490d7e33e
Publisher
Name not classified · diariodotransporte.com.br
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2019-07-11
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-23
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
Open archived copy ↗ · 2020-11-26
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Trade press reporting the Tribunal de Contas do Município audit: 'o sistema de Bilhete Único da cidade tem tecnologia ultrapassada e insegura, o que possibilita fraudes' ('the city's Bilhete Único system uses outdated and insecure technology, which enables fraud'); 'o software do Bilhete Único é de 2004, desde sua criação, e é vulnerável a várias fraudes'; '60% dos cartões em circulação são de tecnologia já ultrapassada, mas os 40% restantes também têm vulnerabilidade' ('60% of cards in circulation use already outdated technology, but the remaining 40% are also vulnerable'). The R$100 million modernisation figure is attributed in the article to a news report, not to the audit.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Jornal de Brasília / Agência Estado — SPTrans registrou quase 100 boletins de ocorrência contra fraudes em bilhete único em 2025 (10 June 2025) jornaldebrasilia.com.br · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-30c8130e29a4fdc4
Publisher
Name not classified · jornaldebrasilia.com.br
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2025-06-10
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-23
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
Open archived copy ↗ · 2025-10-24
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Source of the 2025 fraud figures: 'SPTrans registrou neste ano 99 boletins de ocorrência em delegacias da capital contra fraudes no bilhete único' ('SPTrans filed 99 police reports this year against Bilhete Único fraud') and 'nos cinco primeiros meses do ano, 123,7 mil cartões acabaram bloqueados por uso irregular de crédito' ('in the first five months of the year, 123,700 cards were blocked for irregular use of credit'), with seven arrests.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Portal de Dados Abertos da Prefeitura de São Paulo — SPTrans datasets dados.prefeitura.sp.gov.br · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-bdba8e1b0592ceef
Publisher
Name not classified · dados.prefeitura.sp.gov.br
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-23
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
Open archived copy ↗ · 2025-05-21
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

SPTrans publishes five datasets under Creative Commons CCZero (CC0): payroll, cash flow, code of conduct, 'Créditos Eletrônicos do Bilhete Único' (outstanding card credit by card type) and the tariff cost spreadsheet. No boarding-level, origin-destination or transaction ride data is published, which is why this entry carries no open-data tag.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
Known limits of this passport
  • Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.
  • Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.
  • A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.
  • The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim.

Continue exploring

Compare this project

🇹🇭 Bangkok Rail Fare & Ticketing Integration · Bangkok Concessions decide who transfers: Bangkok's BTS takes only Rabbit; São Paulo's card has crossed city bus and state rail since 2006. 🇯🇵 Osaka Metro Open-Loop Contactless Fare Payment · Osaka Kansai switched 548 stations to bank cards in a day; São Paulo's Metro took them in December 2025, and a bank tap still buys no transfer. 🇲🇽 Movilidad Integrada: One Fare Card Across Eight Transport Systems · Mexico City A bank card opens every Mexico City turnstile but caps nothing; in São Paulo only the proprietary card carries a transfer.

Explore the wider context

🔑 Your Smart City Is Owned by Someone Else📖 Bus rapid transit (BRT)📖 E-ticketing📖 Fare capping
📎 Cite this project

1001 Smart Cities (2026). “Bilhete Único: São Paulo's three-hour bus and rail fare integration” — São Paulo, Brazil. The Smart City Atlas. https://1001smartcities.org/projects/sao-paulo-bilhete-unico/ (last verified 2026-07-26). Data: CC BY 4.0.

The underlying data is free to reuse with attribution — see the open data page.

🚩 Report an error · 🔔 Follow changes to this entry (RSS)

✉️ Get the next source-checked smart-city project in your inbox

One short email a week: the Landmark, one Insight, the new cities. No spam, one-click unsubscribe. About the newsletter · RSS