What Is IstanbulKart And How To Use It?

Gokce Nacar

Feb 27 2562 read

Many people who travel to Istanbul always think about the issue of the easiest and the cheapest transportation within the city, and they always ask the same question, what is the best way to travel and move within the city?

The answer is easy! If you do not have any obstacles that prevent your use of public transport, then definitely using public transportation is the best and most economical option for transportation in Istanbul. Istanbul has a very advanced and comfortable public transport network, such as public transport buses, metro, trams and even ferries, and all of them operate from early morning hours until late in the evening, this provides freedom of movement for tourists greatly. In order to be able to use public transportation in Istanbul, you must obtain the transportation card for the city of Istanbul, which is called IstanbulKart. In our article, we will talk about the advantages of Istanbulkart and where and how to get and use it.

What Is Istanbulkart?

Istanbulkart is a card owned and managed by the municipality of Istanbul that enables you to access the entire public transportation system by using it. This card has the advantage of being the cheapest way to roam and use public transportation in Istanbul.

Where Can I Get Istanbulkart?

Obtaining this card is very easy, as there are more than 2,500 verified selling points in Istanbul for this card, and it is often can be found inside the metro and Metrobus stations, through machines dedicated to selling this card, also it can be bought through kiosks in most public bus stations. You can also buy this card from Istanbul New Airport from the Yellow/Blue machines on the arrivals floor. We recommend obtaining your Istanbulkart upon your arrival at the airport because you’ll need to use it on the airport shuttles and public buses for getting to the city center. You can not pay cash to the shuttles or public buses.

The Istanbul municipality has recently issued an Istanbulkart application that enables you to buy Istanbulkart in the form of a virtual card and use it and load credits online through a personal credit card.

How Much Does IstanbulKart Cost?

The price of Istanbulkart is six Turkish liras, and you can top up your balance with the amount you want (the minimum balance that can be filled is five Turkish liras), bearing in mind that there are no added commissions when performing the balance recharge process.

How Much Does Transportation Cost Per Ride?

The cost of one-ride public transportation in Istanbul averages from 3.50 to 6 Turkish liras, depending on the type of transportation used.

How To Load Credit To Istanbulkart?

Istanbul Kart does not come with the credits. You need to load credits (which are cash) onto the card to use it. And it is very easy. Simply put the card into the yellow/blue vending machines, wait for the machine to scan your card, then deposit cash to load balances onto the card. You can also load credits through approved points of sale at bus stations by asking the seller to recharge your balance with the amount you want.

How Can I Use Istanbulkart?

After you recharge your card with the amount you want, you will be able to use this card in all public transport means in Istanbul such as the metro, subway, tram, funicular, ferries, and public buses. All public transportation contains Istanbulkart card readers, all you have to do is place your card near the reader and wait for a second until you hear the beep, which means that the ticket price has been deducted from your balance, and you will find on this reader’s screen the remaining amount of your card’s balance as well. Since the card is not a personal card, if you are a group, you can buy only one card and you can use the same card for each passenger, but in this case, you will lose most of the discounts on transportation.

You also do not need a card for children under 6 years old.

Please note that, due to the outbreak of the Corona epidemic, the Istanbul municipality prohibits the use of public transport without obtaining the HES code. You can get this code through the specialized mobile applications on the Apple Store and Google Play stores.

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