page_title: São Luís, Maranhão
section_title: Transportation
hierarchical_section_title: São Luís, Maranhão / Transportation
caption_attribution_description: English: Airport
context_page_description: São Luís is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Maranhão. The city is located on Upaon-açu Island or Ilha de São Luís, in the Baía de São Marcos, an extension of the Atlantic Ocean which forms the estuary of Pindaré, Mearim, Itapecuru and other rivers. Its coordinates are 2.53° south, 44.30° west. São Luís has the second largest maritime extension within Brazilian states. Its maritime extension is 640 km. The city proper has a population of some 1,094,667 people. The metropolitan area totals 1,605,305, ranked as the 15th largest in Brazil.
  São Luís, created originally as Saint-Louis-de-Maragnan, is the only Brazilian state capital founded by France and it is one of the three Brazilian state capitals located on islands.
  The city has two major sea ports: Madeira Port and Itaqui Port, through which a substantial part of Brazil's iron ore, originating from the-Amazon region, is exported. The city's main industries are metallurgical with Alumar, and Vale. São Luís is home of the Federal University of Maranhão.
context_section_description: The city is served by the Marechal Cunha Machado International Airport.
  There are 184 bus lines operating in the metropolitan area, served by a fleet of more than 3,000 buses. More than 500,000 people use the bus system every day.  The metropolitan area has a network of alternative transportation that works with drivers who usually have their own coach and organize themselves into cooperatives to enable them to provide the public transport service duly legalized in the department of city traffic.
  The city has also an efficient radio system with more than 2000 taxi cabs accredited.
  Sao Luis is home to a port that receives boats that carry passengers across to the city of Alcantara, which is located in the metropolitan area. It also has another port that receives ferries carrying people and cars that are destined for cities in the region of the state known as the low lands.
  Being an island, the city has only one output ground, the bridge of the Estreito dos Mosquitos, which links the island of Sao Luis by road BR-135.
caption: Marechal Cunha Machado International Airport
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