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TurkeyWhy do I need an Istanbul Card
If you are in Istanbul for one day, then you do not need such a card, you can pay for transport with a one-time transport card for 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 trips, which costs 15, 25, 35, 45 and 90 lira, respectively.
If you plan to see the city, then it is more convenient and profitable to pay for travel with the help of a replenished single contactless transport card Istanbul Kart, the cost of which is only 2.4 lira (0.05 USD, see Turkish currency and Exchange Rate), or almost two times lower than for one-time cards. The card itself costs 70 lire (1.53 USD), but pays off after 3-5 trips.
She can pay for travel in the metro, city buses, Havaist buses to/from the new airport, funiculars, trams, commuter trains, ferries. You can even use it to go to paid city toilets (cost 1 lira) and a taxi with the iTaksi logo. It is not valid only in fixed-route taxis-dolmush, ordinary car taxis and excursion ferries. To pay, you need to bring it to the reader at the turnstile in the Metro, at the entrance to the bus or tram, etc.
What you need to know about Istanbul Kart
- Its validity period is not limited, but the warranty period under which it is subject to free replacement is 2 years.
- The card fully pays off after 3-5 trips.
- You can use one card for several people, sequentially applying it to the reader before the passage of each passenger. But what is bad, the discount when transferring from transport to transport will be taken into account only for the first payment, and then the payment in full.
- The balance on the card is not returned, so top up for small amounts.
- There are no special cards for children, for a child over 6 years old you will have to pay as an adult.
- You can pay for Havaist airport buses with a card, but there is no discount, the cost is the same as when paying with a bank card.
Where to buy a card and how to top up
The card can be purchased at more than 2000 points of sale throughout the city, in the subway, airports, at bus stops. Most often it is sold through ticket machines (Ticketmates), which are at all metro stations, funiculars, marinas, at important bus and tram stops. You can find the nearest point of sale on the list here - https://www.belbim.istanbul but generally speaking, there will be no problems with finding Automata: they are everywhere where there is at least some kind of transport.
The card costs 70 lire (1.53 USD) when buying through the machine (Ticketmates), and 10 lire at the box office. So it's better to deal with the machine, which is not difficult, they have a choice of language, including Russian. However, keep in mind that the yellow machines when buying a card do not issue change, but credit the entire balance to its account. Therefore, it is better not to invest large bills in the machine without the need. There are new blue machines that accept cash and bank cards, issue change. In practice, we (the authors of the site) have never met such, but it seems that they are installed at the new airport.
After purchase, the card must be replenished in the same machines, at the sales offices, or through the mobile application Istanbul Kart. To replenish through the machines, you just need to put the card on the reader (you do not need to shove it anywhere), and then the menu for replenishment is automatically activated, after which it remains only to shove the bill into the banknote receiver. It is easy to find out the balance on the card: it is displayed every time you pay for travel in transport; attach it to special postal terminals at stops and stations; put the card on the reader of the machine for replenishment.
Fare
The fare on the map in the bus, funicular, metro, tram, State Ferry is uniform-2.6 lira (0.06 USD ) for one trip without taking into account the duration of the trip. When transferring between different modes of transport or metro lines, you need to pay again, but if the transfer is made within 2 hours, a discount is provided:
- 1 transfer - 1.85 lira;
- 2 transplants-1.4 lira;
- 3 and subsequent - 0.9 lira.
In Metrobuses, payment is made depending on the number of stops:
- 1-3 stops - 1.95 lira;
- 4-9 stops-3.00 lira;
- 10-15 stops - 3.25 lira;
- 16-21 stop-3.40 lira;
- 22-27 stops-3.50 lira;
- 28-33 stops-3.60 lira;
- 34+ stops - 3.85 lira.
The ferry to Princes 'Islands costs 5 lire (0.11 USD).
Travel by Havalimani bus from the airport depending on the destination in the city - from 16 lira (0.35 USD).
More information about the map is available on the official website https://www.istanbulkart.istanbul, but it's only in Turkish so far. But in principle, what we have described is enough to use the map.
