Istanbul is a huge city and it is quite expensive to go everywhere by taxi. Using buses and rail systems like Istanbul Metro is a cheaper and sometimes the most convenient way to go around in Istanbul given the heavy traffic of the rush hours.
Istanbul Municipality has devised a common payment system for all kinds of transportation, including sea buses, ferries, trams, metro, metro bus, public buses and even nostalgic trams in Istiklal Street of Taksim. This key-size button, named Akbil, can be bought and reused by loading credit inside. Now it is not possible to buy a ticket inside a public bus as you could do in many tourist cities in Europe.
AKBIL is now phased out into a proximity card Istanbulkart, which is being used for many years in Istanbul, and that’s the cheapest way to use all kinds of public transportation. Istanbulkart does not only have a regular price, but also you’ll have the opportunity to have a reduced price on transfers in 2 hours starting from your first trip. Akbil, even it’s still valid, now not sold anymore (but if you have one, you can still load it) and turned into a recent technology, a credit-card like RFID proximity card, Istanbulkart.
You can buy Istanbulkart for 6 Turkish Liras from large stations and airports and load credit on it. The card itself is non-refundable but if you have some credits inside and you want that money back, you can withdraw it from large stations as well.
You can reload your card by using automatic vending machines all around Istanbul, ticket offices and kiosks with the sign “Akbil Dolum” or “Istanbulkart Dolum”. It’s better to reload before you have inadequate credit, since it’s not possible to load inside the public buses so you would have to get off the bus to load it.
It’s possible to use an anonymous card for multiple people. That saves money for having the card, but you’ll miss the opportunity to have the reduced price on transfers, which is not little: The first usage in many lines is 1,95 TL at the date of this article, and the first transfer in 2 hours is 1,25, the second one is 1,00, the third one and so on is 0,75 TL. Suppose that you’ll use transfers for a few time you’ll stay longer than a few days, it should be considered to buy a card for everyone.
f you bought one already, you can keep it for long time, 2 years without loading any credit. So, you should better keep your card for your next trip to Istanbul.
Istanbul Municipality has devised a common payment system for all kinds of transportation, including sea buses, ferries, trams, metro, metro bus, public buses and even nostalgic trams in Istiklal Street of Taksim. This key-size button, named Akbil, can be bought and reused by loading credit inside. Now it is not possible to buy a ticket inside a public bus as you could do in many tourist cities in Europe.
AKBIL is now phased out into a proximity card Istanbulkart, which is being used for many years in Istanbul, and that’s the cheapest way to use all kinds of public transportation. Istanbulkart does not only have a regular price, but also you’ll have the opportunity to have a reduced price on transfers in 2 hours starting from your first trip. Akbil, even it’s still valid, now not sold anymore (but if you have one, you can still load it) and turned into a recent technology, a credit-card like RFID proximity card, Istanbulkart.
You can buy Istanbulkart for 6 Turkish Liras from large stations and airports and load credit on it. The card itself is non-refundable but if you have some credits inside and you want that money back, you can withdraw it from large stations as well.
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| Istanbulkart |
It’s possible to use an anonymous card for multiple people. That saves money for having the card, but you’ll miss the opportunity to have the reduced price on transfers, which is not little: The first usage in many lines is 1,95 TL at the date of this article, and the first transfer in 2 hours is 1,25, the second one is 1,00, the third one and so on is 0,75 TL. Suppose that you’ll use transfers for a few time you’ll stay longer than a few days, it should be considered to buy a card for everyone.
f you bought one already, you can keep it for long time, 2 years without loading any credit. So, you should better keep your card for your next trip to Istanbul.
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