You can apply for İstanbulkart either online or in-person. In any case, you should download and use the app.
İstanbulkart on Google Play Store
Postdoctoral researchers are not eligible for this discounted public transit card.
1. Sign up on the İstanbulkart website
Visit the online application page or İstanbulkart app and sign up with your Turkish phone number.
While registering, the system asks for your foreign ID number written on your residence permit/work permit.
2. Request a student/faculty transportation card
Under the menu on the website or the İstanbulkart app, click on the menu and select “Card Application”. There, choose either Öğrenci (student) or Öğretmen (faculty) and proceed.
Since it is required to upload your headshot to the system, please have one available in JPEG format on your device.
Make sure to choose Koç University for your card delivery.
3. Pay the card fee
You will be paying the card fee (which can be found here under “İstanbulkart”) through the online application form. You can pay the fee with your credit card at the last step of your application. Please make sure that your credit card is available for international transactions. Other means of payment are not accepted.
3. Await your İstanbulkart arrival
After completing the online application form, your card will be issued and delivered to the Rumelifeneri Campus. You can track the delivery via the Application Number given on the website/app. Once it arrives, you may collect it from Student Center, -1st Floor, Mail Center (Next to Yurtiçi Kargo).
After completing this process, you can start to use your card online through the app.
Upon your visit, inform the staff that you want to obtain a discounted İstanbulkart or say: “Öğrenci (student)/Öğretmen (teacher) indirimli İstanbulkart almak istiyorum”. The staff will receive your application along with the required documents and issue your card.
You can also refill your card through the refill machines (Biletmatik) placed almost all over the public transit points, KU main campus Student Center lower 1st floor (next to Yapı Kredi Bank), and newsstands with signs: “İstanbulkart Bayii” or “İstanbulkart Dolum Merkezi”.
The student İstanbulkart can also be filled with monthly 200 passes for on the app or at a newsstand, this process is called “aylık” and can be found as “load ticket” on the app.
1. Cancel your lost card by calling 153 helpline
If you lose your İstanbulkart, call 153 from any phone (for other languages, press *) and cancel your İstanbulkart. The customer representative will ask for your foreigner ID number and a security question to complete the cancellation process.
2. Make an online application same as the first time OR visit an İstanbulkart Application Center with the required documents
If you had money in your old card, we advise you to visit an İstanbulkart Application Center as you will be able to both apply for a new card and transfer your old balance to the new card at the center. The closest application center to the university is the Sarıyer İstanbulkart Application Center (Beyaz Masa) next to Mehmet Akif Ersoy Park.
Required Documents