This post is useful only for travelers coming from Europe (and maybe a few other Western countries) who find themselves in Kazakhstan and bravely decide to use public transport. I’m writing this type of post (which I normally never write) because when I arrived, I was totally lost, slapped in the face by reality, and realized that all the info I had read online — plus the fabulous “knowledge” from AI — was completely wrong. Not just slightly wrong. Totally useless for tourists.
Lesson learned: don’t believe everything. Actually — don’t believe anything that AI spits out, because the info has no logic, no structure, no real-life connection… and let’s just say “truth” is questionable.
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| Left - Astana NFC in bus reading device, Right - Almaty NFC in bus reading device |
So, long story short, this post is loud and clear for:
- Tourists coming to Kazakhstan from Western, Central, or Southern Europe
- Those whose phones don’t support dual SIM and (like me) don’t want to yank out their home SIM just to stick in a local Kazakh one
- Those who only have e-SIM (and no Kazakh phone number)
- Which means: you can’t use the popular taxi apps Yandex Go or InDrive (internet yes, but without a local number — no chance)
- Which also means: you can’t pre-install the local public transport apps either (Onay for Almaty, Avtobys for Astana). Same reason. No local number.
And no, they don’t have Uber. They don’t have Bolt either. And no, you can’t just swipe your Visa/Mastercard on the bus. So let’s go city by city.
Astana – Avtobys Public Transport Card
Not 100% sure (because I didn’t physically check myself), but from all my Googling I couldn’t find any info if you can buy the transport card directly at the airport. Anyway, in Astana, the bus departs from the domestic arrivals terminal. So if you land internationally, you’ll need to walk about 200m to the left. Buses 10 and 12 go to the city center.
Google Maps is useless here — it doesn’t even show public transport. The app that saved me was Yandex Maps: it shows all routes, tracks buses in real time, and even uses the Latin alphabet so you can actually read it.
Of course, I didn’t know that when I arrived. It was raining cats and dogs, freezing, and I just wanted to get to my hotel. So I jumped on the first bus that came (luckily, it was the right one) and hoped for the best.
Astana Public Transport Card
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Astana kiosk for charging transport card
One ride costs 110 T (about €0.20). Since I had just landed, I didn’t have small change, and the driver refused to take big bills… so he just waved me on like a stowaway. Later, ticket inspectors came — twice! — and when I explained the driver didn’t charge me, they just shrugged like, “Oh well, another clueless tourist.”
The next day I went on a quest to buy the official card. I finally found it at a red “iStop” kiosk (often right at bus stops). The card itself cost 345 T, and then I topped it up myself at a green kiosk inside a Magnum Express store (that one even had an English menu — lifesaver!). I just typed “avtobys” into the search, entered my card ID, and topped up 800 T with my bank card. Easy.
Locals usually pay through the mobile app or with local bank cards (Kaspi and Halyk). My physical card worked on all buses — blue, green, red — and now it’s a nice little souvenir. And yes, inspectors checked tickets on every single ride. Sometimes more than once per bus!
Almaty – Onay Public Transport Card
This time I was wiser. The moment I landed, I went looking for the card. Found it! At the domestic arrivals terminal, outside on the street, there’s a yellow Onay kiosk. Super simple, with an English menu.
Minimum top-up is 800 T. I put in 2000 T, got my card plus a receipt, and off I went. Bus 92 takes you to the city center (about a 10-minute walk from the airport), and with Yandex Maps it’s easy to find the stop. One ride costs 120 T (about € 0.20).
Purchasing Onay card
Almaty Public Transport Card
That was it. No extra kiosks, no top-up stress. Done. Another plastic card for my collection. Interestingly, in Almaty, I took the bus a lot, but not once did inspectors show up.
Final Thoughts
Buses in both cities are frequent and on time. Rush hour (9 a.m. and 5–6 p.m.) can be a nightmare, but otherwise, pretty smooth.
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