Baku Metro and BakıKart: Fares, the Card and Getting to Your Tour

A ride on the Baku metro costs ₼0.60, however far you go, and has done since 1 October 2025. You pay with a BakıKart, a plastic card that costs ₼3 from the machines at station entrances, or straight from a contactless bank card or phone. The network is three lines and 27 stations, open from about six in the morning until midnight.

That is most of it. The rest of this page is the small print that trips people up on their first morning — a machine that gives no change, a bank card that will not open the same gate twice, a section of line closed for most of a year — and how the metro fits into a day trip that starts from a fixed meeting point.

Fare and BakıKart

There is one metro fare: ₼0.60 a ride, no zones. It was set by the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport from 1 October 2025; before that a ride was ₼0.50.

The BakıKart is the city's transport card. It is not registered to anyone — under the card's terms, whoever holds it is its user — so a card left over at the end of your stay can simply be handed on. Since 1 July 2026 a new card costs ₼3, up from ₼2. That is the price of the plastic; the rides go on top as balance. Fares and existing balances did not change with it.

The same card also pays on city buses, the airport bus among them. Bus fares depend on the route, so if you plan to use both, load a little more than the metro alone needs.

One BakıKart covers a group: tap it at the turnstile once for each person, as long as the balance is enough for everyone. A contactless bank card or phone will not open the same gate twice within 10 minutes, so when you travel together, one loaded BakıKart is the easier way through. The card is for the metro and buses; taxis do not take it.

Buying and topping up

New cards come from the vending and top-up machines at the entrances to metro stations. Two things to know before you queue: the machines take cash only, and they give no change. Whatever you put in beyond the price of the card lands on its balance. A ₼10 note, for example, buys the card and leaves ₼7 — eleven rides, with forty qəpik spare.

After that you top up at the same terminals or in the BakıKart mobile app. For where to get manat in small notes, and what a day in Baku tends to cost, see our guide to money in Azerbaijan.

No card at all: bank card, phone or QR

Every metro turnstile also reads contactless bank cards — the metro says cards from local and foreign banks both work — as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay. One rule catches travelling groups: the same card cannot be used at the same turnstile again within ten minutes. At the next turnstile along it works at once.

A third route is a QR ticket. The BakıKart, Birbank, ABB Mobile, M10 and Baku Metropolitan apps sell them from the app's own balance, one ticket per journey.

Lines and hours

Three lines — Red, Green and Purple — run through 27 stations over about 41 km. Stations open for entry at around 06:00 and stop letting people in at midnight. On some big event nights a few central stations stay open later, and the metro announces it when it happens.

Works in 2026–27. Since 15 August 2026 no trains have run between 28 May and Nizami, while the Red and Green lines are separated into two independent lines; the job is planned to take about ten to eleven months. For now the Red line runs from İçərişəhər to Əhmədli, the Green line from Dərnəgül to Nizami, and express buses link metro stations on both sides of the gap. If your journey crosses that stretch, allow extra time and look at the route-change page on metro.gov.az before setting out.

Using it with a day trip

Our group day trips start from a set meeting point, and every tour page names its own — for most departures it is on Azerbaijan Avenue in the centre. If your hotel is close to a station, the metro is the cheapest way there, and with entry from about six it is running in time for an early start. What decides it is the walk at both ends. The evening before, open the tour page, find the meeting point on a map, check which station is nearest and how long the walk takes, and remember the closed section above.

On a private trip, pickup from your hotel is often possible if it is agreed in advance — ask when you book, and that morning you need neither the metro nor a taxi. Our guides speak English and Russian, so once you reach the group you are in familiar hands. To plan several day trips from one hotel, read Baku as a base for day trips; every departure is listed on our tours page.

When a taxi is better

The metro covers the centre and the inner districts, not the whole city. A taxi is the better call with heavy bags, after midnight, for an early start when your hotel is far from a station, or when your route would cross the closed 28 May–Nizami section. Our taxi guide explains how fares are worked out and where taxis stop making sense.

Frequently asked questions

How much is a ride on the Baku metro?

₼0.60 per ride since 1 October 2025, whether you pay by BakıKart, contactless bank card, phone or an app QR ticket.

How much is a BakıKart, and where do I get one?

₼3 since 1 July 2026, from the machines at metro station entrances. They accept cash only and give no change — anything extra goes onto the card as balance.

Can I pay with a foreign bank card?

Yes. The turnstiles accept contactless cards from local and foreign banks, plus Apple Pay and Google Pay. The same card will not open the same turnstile twice within ten minutes; use the next one.

What time does the Baku metro open and close?

Stations let passengers in from about 06:00 until midnight.

Fare, card price, payment methods, lines and the 28 May–Nizami works are taken from metro.gov.az, bakikart.az and the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, read on 4 October 2026. Prices and the timetable of the works can change; check metro.gov.az before you travel.