Istanbul Public Transport: Fares, Istanbulkart and Routes

A ride on the Istanbul metro, tram, funicular or city bus costs ₺46.20 with an Istanbulkart and ₺65 with a single-use ticket, and a second ride within 120 minutes costs less. Marmaray, M11, Metrobüs, ferries and airport buses have fares of their own. All of them are on this page for the tariff in force since 20 July 2026.

The fares come from one tariff, İBB Council decision 813 of 17 July 2026 (valid from 20 July 2026). Every figure on this page was checked 19.10.2026.

The card, the QR and the ticket what pays for a ride

The Istanbulkart is the city’s rechargeable travel card. The transfer fares in the tariff are written for the Istanbulkart and its digital QR; a limited-use ticket takes one ride from its count for every boarding, whatever the transfer.

A limited-use ticket (physical, SMS, QR or web QR) costs ₺65 for one ride, ₺120 for two, ₺185 for three, and so on up to ₺635 for twelve. The tariff calls credit cards, prepaid cards and bank cards “open-loop cards” and says they are charged on the limited-use ticket tariff.

The card pays for itself quickly: one standard ride costs ₺18.80 less on the card than on a ticket, so the ₺165 card fee is covered after 9 standard rides, sooner with transfers. The last tab of the fare finder counts it for chains of up to six rides.

A limit is what a pass spends per ride. A standard ride takes one limit; the tariff lists how many a Marmaray, M11, Metrobüs or ferry ride takes in its own table.

Transfers the 120-minute window

Tap the same card on the next metro, tram, funicular or bus within 120 minutes and the later rides cost less. The ladder for the standard lines:

• The window – 120 minutes in total for taking and giving transfers; all lines give a transfer except the island taxi.
• Same place – there is no transfer at the same point or location. The tariff treats the Metrobüs, the tram and the metro at Zeytinburnu as one point.
• Metrobüs – takes no transfer: you pay its own fare when you board.
• Free links – the free metro–bus–metro and ferry–bus–ferry transfer links that already existed stay in place.
• Discounted cards – a student, discounted, subscription or free card needs 30 minutes between two uses at the same point.

Metro, tram and funicular one fare, any distance

Metro, tram, funicular, the Tünel, the nostalgic tram, İETT buses and private public buses share the standard ladder above: a ride costs ₺46.20 whether it is one stop or the whole line, because the tariff has no distance scale for these lines. Marmaray, M11, Metrobüs, ferries and airport buses are priced separately, below.

Lines, stations, first and last trains and the night metro are in our Istanbul metro and Marmaray guide.

Marmaray and M11 paid by the stations you ride

Marmaray (Halkalı – Gebze) and M11 (Halkalı – Istanbul Airport – Gayrettepe) are run by TCDD Taşımacılık and have their own tables in the tariff. The fare depends on the number of stations ridden. When you enter, the gate takes the maximum of the line; when you leave, the unused distance is refunded.

• At the gate – the maximum is taken when you enter: ₺82.17 on Marmaray, ₺73.19 on M11. The refund follows on exit.
• Refund window – on Marmaray the refund window is 240 minutes. There is no refund if you exit at the station where you entered.
• Surface lines – the Sirkeci – Kazlıçeşme surface line and the Halkalı – Bahçeşehir suburban line cost ₺37.40 for a full-fare first boarding, then ₺26.58 for the first transfer, ₺20.17 for the second and ₺12.75 from the third.

Ferries and Metrobüs by line and by stops

City ferries are priced by line, from a mile-based formula. Ten of the lines in the tariff:

The Princes’ Islands ferries cost ₺151.23 a ride; the tariff gives the Adakart, the card for island residents, ₺90.70. Luggage above 50 litres or 30 kg pays on the city ferries and the İDO sea services.

A transfer between sea and land lines takes 50% off the transfer fare. The tariff limits that discount to personalised cards (registered to a Turkish or foreigner ID number); it does not apply at night or on lines that take no transfers.

The Metrobüs runs on its own lane and is priced by the stops you ride, from ₺33.08 for one stop to ₺68.59 for 34 or more. It takes no transfer, and the tariff does not refund it between 01:00 and 06:00.

The two airports rail, bus and shuttle lines

Istanbul Airport has the M11 metro to Gayrettepe (bands above) and, in the tariff, five H-line buses that each cost ₺92.40: H-1 from Mahmutbey Metro, H-2 from Mecidiyeköy, H-3 from Halkalı Marmaray, H-6 from Yunus Emre Mahallesi and H-8 from Hacıosman Metro.

Sabiha Gökçen Airport has the M4 metro to Kadıköy (Metro İstanbul line page), which is a standard ride of ₺46.20. The E10 bus to Kadıköy via Kurtköy costs ₺92.40 and the E3 to 4.Levent Metro ₺138.60.

The luxury airport lines run on set routes between the airports and the city:

On these lines the tariff names Istanbulkart, QR, credit card and debit card as the ways to pay on board; transfer, discounted and subscription cards do not work there.

Taxis, dolmuş and minibuses metered and fixed fares

Taxis are metered. The tariff sets, for each taxi class, an opening fee, a rate per kilometre, a waiting rate and a minimum for every trip.

A taxi-dolmuş is a shared taxi on a fixed route with a fixed fare:

District minibuses charge by distance. School pupils with a discounted Istanbulkart pay ₺28.

Rules worth knowing

• No cash – on rail, buses and ferries: handing over cash for a fare is banned, only an electronic ticket is taken.
• Night fare – lines that run between 00:30 and 05:30 charge double the line’s fare, unless a decision says otherwise. Metrobüs and the island taxi are outside the rule, and the sea transfer discount does not apply at night.
• Children – pay from the age of 7.
• Student and 60+ cards – the student fare is for holders of a student Istanbulkart; the “teacher or 60+ card” fare is for teachers and holders of the 60+ Istanbulkart.
• Refund windows – Marmaray 240 minutes; Metrobüs and the sea lines 120 minutes.
• Free-travel days – when the council makes transport free, the free ride, the transfer and the refund apply only to personalised cards.

Questions

Sources the tariff in force

Fares are those of the İBB tariff valid from 20.07.2026, İBB Council decision 813 of 17 July 2026, checked 19.10.2026. İBB changes the tariff by council decision.

1. Ücret tarifeleri (tariff page) – İBB Toplu Ulaşım Hizmetleri Şube Müdürlüğü, checked 19.10.2026
2. İstanbulkart (elektronik bilet) ücret tarifeleri – İBB Toplu Ulaşım Hizmetleri Şube Müdürlüğü, checked 19.10.2026
3. Taksi taşımacılığı ücret tarifesi – İBB Toplu Ulaşım Hizmetleri Şube Müdürlüğü, checked 19.10.2026
4. Taksi dolmuş taşımacılığı ücret tarifeleri – İBB Toplu Ulaşım Hizmetleri Şube Müdürlüğü, checked 19.10.2026
5. Minibüs taşımacılığı ücret tarifesi – İBB Toplu Ulaşım Hizmetleri Şube Müdürlüğü, checked 19.10.2026
6. Ücretler ve limitler – İstanbulkart (BELBİM), checked 19.10.2026
7. M4 Kadıköy – Sabiha Gökçen Havalimanı metro hattı – Metro İstanbul, checked 19.10.2026
8. M2 metro hattı – Metro İstanbul, checked 19.10.2026

The illustrations were made for this page and show no real person.