Transport Cards in Kazakhstan 2026: Which Is More Profitable and Where to Buy

Every month 4–8 thousand tenge is spent on travel. Switching to a transport card or app returns 30–50 % of this money to your wallet. The main thing is to choose the right system for your city and habits.

Every day on the bus or metro — and you are already losing hundreds of tenge. A transport card pays for itself after 15–20 trips per month, and a virtual card costs nothing at all. We break it down by city, where to buy it cheapest and how not to overpay on the deposit and commissions.

Almaty — ONAY
A single card for buses and the metro.
- Card cost: 500–800 tenge (at Karavan kiosks, airport, Almaty-1 railway station or centres at Ryskulbekova 33/2 and Abylai Khan 3A).
- Single trip: 120 tenge (cashless). Cash — up to 250 tenge, and on some routes cash is not accepted at all.
- Monthly pass: unified — 9,900 tenge + 120 tenge non-reducible balance; student — 4,200 tenge; school — 2,000 tenge; pensioner — 3,000 tenge.
- Transfers: within one validation + 60 minutes free in some tariffs.
Works in the metro via QR or card.

Astana — Transcard (CTS)
City Transportation Systems.
- Issue of a regular card: free or through partners; named (school/discounted) — 1,200 tenge.
- Single trip: 110 tenge cashless, 220 tenge cash.
- Monthly “City” pass: 7,500 tenge (the most popular). There are options with express routes and suburbs up to 13,500 tenge.
- Short-term: 1 day — 500 tenge, 15 trips with transfers — 2,000 tenge.
- Schoolchildren aged 7–18 travel free with a named card.
The CTS hybrid card from Eurasian Bank is both a bank card and a transport card.

Shymkent and most regions — Avtobys
A single system works in Shymkent, Aktobe, Atyrau, Pavlodar, Uralsk, Semey and another 15+ cities.
- Standard card: from 550 tenge.
- Tariffs depend on the city (in Shymkent often 70–100 tenge per trip).
- Discounted tariffs (school, student, social) are connected free online via the app or website jenil.avtobys.kz.
The card and app work across the entire Avtobys network — convenient if you travel frequently between cities.

Karaganda, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Saran — also ONAY (subdomains onay.kz). Tariffs are similar to Almaty’s.

Scenario 1. I travel every day office–home (40–50 trips per month)
Almaty: 40 × 120 = 4,800 tenge cash/single → monthly pass 9,900 tenge pays for itself after 82 trips, but with 40+ it is already profitable due to no queues and no risk of forgetting money.
Astana: 40 × 110 = 4,400 tenge → monthly 7,500 tenge pays off faster with two transfers.

Scenario 2. Student with transfers
Student monthly pass in Almaty 4,200 tenge — 50–60 % savings. In Astana the school/student card gives free or greatly reduced travel.

Scenario 3. Arrived for a week
Take a virtual card in the ONAY or Avtobys app + top up for 10–15 trips. Do not spend on plastic.

Scenario 4. Parent with a schoolchild
Get a named card for the child — free in Astana, school monthly pass 2,000 tenge per month in Almaty.

Direct bank card payment
Everywhere cheaper than cash, but more expensive than a transport card. In Almaty via Kaspi QR — 120 tenge (same as ONAY card). Apple Pay/Google Pay work through the apps, but not everywhere.

1. Determine your city → download the app (ONAY! or Avtobys).
2. Open a virtual card (free, 2 minutes).
3. Top up via Kaspi/Halyk — 0 % commission.
4. Test 5–7 trips.
5. Calculate your monthly expenses in the app.
6. If more than 40 trips — buy a monthly pass.
7. Register the card in the app — the balance will not disappear if the card is lost.

- ONAY: there is no deposit as such. The card costs 500–800 tenge, but the balance is transferred to a new card if it is registered in the app.
- Transcard (Astana): issue of a named card — 1,200 tenge (this is the production cost, not refundable).
- Avtobys: similarly, 550 tenge — cost of the card.
If lost: immediately block it in the app or by calling the call centre. Buy a new plastic card; the balance is refunded within 24 hours.

Issued online at transcard.kz (Astana) or in the Avtobys app / ONAY centres. You need: identity document, certificate from the educational institution or benefit document. In Astana schoolchildren aged 7–18 travel free with a named card.

• ONAY! — the best option for Almaty and Karaganda.
• Avtobys — for 20+ cities, including Shymkent.
• You can completely manage with the app: QR code, NFC, Bluetooth. In Astana and Almaty payment with a bank card via Kaspi QR works everywhere.

• Buying a card from private sellers — the balance may be “tied” to the old number.
• Topping up not through Kaspi/Halyk — 1–3 % commission.
• Not activating the tariff — money sits there but the pass does not work.
• Using an old card in another city — it will not work.

1. Official ONAY website — onay.kz (tariffs, top-up, FAQ, 2025–2026 updates).
2. Official Transcard / CTS website — transcard.kz and cts.gov.kz (tariffs, issue cost, discounted cards, data as of 2026).
3. Official Avtobys website — avtobys.kz (coverage cities, app, virtual tariffs).
4. Official news and publications Tengrinews, Inform.kz, Liter.kz (current travel tariffs 110–120 tenge, changes 2025–2026).

All figures and conditions were checked on the official resources as of May 2026. If a tariff has changed — always check in the app of your city.