Getting Around Konya: Contactless Trams, the Nostalgic Tram and Bicycle Lanes

Moving around Konya is a joy for visitors because the city is completely flat, all key monuments sit along a single east-west corridor, and every tram and municipal bus accepts foreign contactless bank cards directly at the turnstile.

1. How to Pay: Tap Any Contactless Visa or Mastercard (No Local Card Needed)

Konya's municipal transit system (ATUS / Konya Elkart) is fully equipped with open-loop EMV bank card validators at every tram station turnstile and inside every municipal bus. Simply tap your contactless Visa or Mastercard debit/credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay directly on the reader screen to pay the standard single-ride fare.

2. The Two Tram Lines Every Visitor Uses

• Tram Line 1 (Selçuk Üniversitesi, Otogar, KuleSite, Kültürpark, Alaeddin): the 21-kilometre backbone of the city. If you arrive at the Intercity Bus Terminal (Otogar) or are staying at a modern hotel near KuleSite / Aydınlıkevler in Selçuklu, hop onto a southbound Tram 1 to Kültürpark or Alaeddin to reach Karatay Madrasa, İnce Minareli Madrasa and Alaeddin Mosque.
• Tram Line 2 (Alaeddin, Mevlana, Adliye, The Historic Catenary-Free Spine): running directly east from the southern side of Alaeddin Hill down Mevlana Caddesi to the Mevlana Museum and Mevlana Cultural Centre. Notice that between Alaeddin and Mevlana, there are no overhead electric wires spoiling your photographs of the mosques, the trams run on battery power through the historic zone.

3. Key Bus Numbers (Bus 64 to Sille) & The Bicycle Tram

• To Sille Village (Bus 64): board municipal Bus 64 at the Kültürpark / Alaeddin bus hub; it runs every 20 to 30 minutes past the Tropical Butterfly Garden (Bus 47/58 also stop right at the Butterfly Garden) and terminates right inside Sille village in 25 minutes.
• To Çatalhöyük (45 km south-east): because rural minibuses via Çumra only pass the main road junction several kilometres from the mounds, take a metered taxi or pre-arrange a half-day round-trip taxi from Konya (agreeing on a 90-minute waiting time at the site).