Overview
Baku is the only city in Azerbaijan with a rapid transit system, and the Baku Metro (Bakı metropoliteni) is the backbone of getting around the capital. It opened on 6 November 1967 as the fifth metro system in the Soviet Union and the thirty-fourth in the world, and it remains a classic example of Soviet-era design: very deep central stations, elaborate decoration blending traditional Azerbaijani motifs with Soviet ideology, and a compact, high-frequency network. Today it covers 40.7 kilometres of bidirectional track across three lines and 27 stations, and it carried 229.6 million passengers in 2024 — an average of about 627,000 riders a day.
Riding it end to end as a visitor is straightforward. You enter through a station, tap a rechargeable smart card or scan a QR code at the turnstile, descend by escalator to the platform, and board the next train in your direction. Trains run daily from roughly 06:00 until midnight (some stations vary slightly), with peak frequency of about 3–6 minutes and intervals stretching to 10–15 minutes in the quieter mid-morning and early afternoon. The system is cashless, so your first job is to get a card before you reach the gates. Announcements and signage are in Azerbaijani and English, and staff will generally help if you speak Azerbaijani or Russian, with some English speakers among them.
The network
Baku's public transport is a mix of a compact metro, a suburban electric train, an extensive bus and minibus network, a funicular, and Caspian ferries. There is no tram or light-rail system in operation.
Metro (Bakı metropoliteni)
The metro has three lines, identified by colour. Note that the system is operated in practice as a four-branch pattern rather than as cleanly separated lines: trains run from Həzi Aslanov to either İçərişəhər or Dərnəgül, branching at 28 May station beneath the main railway station, with a few services an hour continuing to Bakmil.
- M1 Red Line — 13 stations, 20.1 km, running from İçərişəhər to Həzi Aslanov, plus the Bakmil branch. Opened in 1967, it is the oldest and the most useful line for visitors, passing the Old City, the seafront and the main rail hub.
- M2 Green Line — 10 stations, 14.5 km, running from Dərnəgül to Xətai, with a separate one-stop shuttle between Cəfər Cabbarlı and Şah İsmail Xətai. It was developed between 1968 and 1976 and is planned to become a circular line.
- M3 Purple Line — 4 stations, 6.1 km, running from Avtovağzal to Xocəsən. It opened in phases between 2016 and 2022 and is being extended, with plans for it to reach 18.5 km and more than ten additional stops.
Two interchanges matter most: 28 May, where the Red and Green lines cross and where you connect to the central railway station, and Memar Əcəmi, where the Green and Purple lines cross. Signage at the transfer stations is difficult to spot, so pay attention when changing trains at 28 May and Cəfər Cabbarlı.
Stations worth knowing as a visitor include İçərişəhər (the UNESCO-listed walled Old City, with the Maiden Tower and the Palace of the Shirvanshahs), Sahil (the seafront and Baku Boulevard, plus Nizami Street shopping), 28 May (the main hub, 28 Mall and the airport express), Nizami Gəncəvi (central, with an elaborate Soviet interior), Gənclik (Gənclik Mall), Koroğlu (the Olympic Stadium and sports venues), Avtovağzal (the intercity bus terminal, whose station is a giant glass pyramid worth seeing from outside), and Xocəsən, the newest station, which opened on 23 December 2022.
Suburban rail (Baku electric train)
A Baku electric train runs through several parts of the city and the surrounding area, including Sumqayıt, for a fare of about 1 manat. Domestic rail services also connect Baku with most major cities in Azerbaijan, including Şəki, Gəncə, Qəbələ, Lənkəran and Şəmkir, and tickets for buses and trains can be bought online.
Buses and minibuses
Buses and minibuses reach almost everywhere in Baku, with destinations usually posted on the front and right side of the vehicle. Fares are around 0.60 manat per person, though some routes (such as the one to Bibi Heybət Mosque in the south) cost about 0.65 manat. Newer red buses accept only electronic payment via metro cards; some larger bus stations have machines to top up cards but not to buy new ones. Schedules are generally posted at bus stops.
Funicular
The Baku funicular is an inexpensive way to reach the Viewpoint and the Flame Towers.
Ferries
Caspian ferries exist primarily to carry cargo, but departures from Baku towards Aktau in Kazakhstan and Türkmenbaşy in Turkmenistan remain possible. Note that Azerbaijan's land and sea borders are closed to civilian entry, so these services are exit-only for most travellers.
Tickets & fares
The metro runs on a flat fare per trip, with no zones: one journey costs 0.60 manat (60 gapiks) following a price rise on 1 October 2025. Some Baku residents were unhappy about the increase, pointing to the age of the system's infrastructure. All figures here are approximate and change — always check the current fare before you travel.
- BakıKart / Bakı Metropoliten Kart — a rechargeable RFID smart card valid on the metro and on BakuBus. Expect a refundable deposit of about 2–3 manat on top of the travel credit you load. You can buy one at metro stations and some bus stops, including from ticket machines whose language can be switched to English.
- Limited-trip cards — a cheaper disposable card (around 0.20 manat) loaded with 1, 2, 3 or 4 trips, with the four-trip version costing about 1 manat in total. More than one person may use the same card, which makes them handy for couples or families.
- QR code — turnstiles have accepted QR-code payment since December 2023, alongside card tapping.
- Azerbaycan Sosial Kartı — some Azerbaijani bank cards issued on this system also work at the gates.
- Cash — the metro is a cashless system; you cannot pay the fare in cash at the turnstile.
There is no separate tourist pass or day ticket for the metro; visitors simply load a card with credit and top it up as needed. If you plan to use buses as well, the same BakıKart covers you, which is why it is worth buying rather than relying on single-trip cards.
From the airport
Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD) sits about 25 km from the city centre on the Absheron peninsula, and there is no direct metro link — you reach the metro by bus, minibus or taxi and continue from there.
- T1 Airport Express bus — runs between the airport and the railway station, with an intermediate stop at Koroğlu metro station. The ride costs about 1.30 manat with a BakıKart; contactless local and international bank cards and mobile wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay also work, though a foreign Visa card may be charged slightly more. Buses run every 30 minutes. The bus waits across the street from the railway station.
- Route N16 bus — runs between the airport and Samed Vurgun Park on 28 May Street, in the heart of Baku. The trip costs about 1 manat and takes roughly 40–60 minutes, running every 30 minutes from early morning until late at night. The bus leaves outside the airport building, across the parking area.
- Minibus No. 135 — runs between the airport traffic circle (about a 15-minute walk from the terminal) and 28 May metro station. The journey takes about an hour and costs roughly 0.40 manat.
- Taxi — the least predictable option. Only one taxi company is permitted to operate at the airport, and that monopoly can push fares to nearly 50 manat, especially late at night. A reasonable negotiated fare to the centre is around 15 manat, and about 5 manat will get you to Koroğlu metro station, from where it is four to six stations into the centre. Taxis have no meters, so agree the price in advance, do not let the driver renegotiate on arrival, and consider walking past the taxi stand to the far end of the parking lot for a better deal. Most Baku cabs are unmarked, so be cautious.
Etiquette & customs
The metro gets very crowded at rush hour, and a few local habits will make your journey smoother.
- Queuing — boarding is orderly by local standards; let passengers off before you step on, and expect some pushing in the peak.
- Escalators — stand on the right and walk on the left, as in most European metro systems. Many stations are very deep, so the escalator ride is long; keep your footing and hold the handrail.
- Priority seating — seats near the doors are generally left for older passengers, pregnant women and those with children. Offer yours without being asked.
- Eating and drinking — keep food and drinks off the trains and out of the stations; it is not part of local practice.
- Rush hour — avoid travelling with large luggage between roughly 08:00–10:00 and 17:00–19:00 if you can, and keep bags close to your body.
- Photography — there is clear signage in stations prohibiting photography, and there have been reports of people being arrested for taking pictures inside. Shooting from outside the station is fine.
- Language — staff are happy to help in Azerbaijani or Russian, and some understand English. Politeness goes a long way.
Official links
Survival terms
- Metro / subway — metro (metropoliten) — metro
- Ticket — bilet (bilet) — ticket
- Line — xətt (khatt) — line
- Entrance — giriş (girish) — entrance
- Exit — çıxış (chykhysh) — exit
- Transfer — keçid (kechid) — transfer
- Single fare — bir gedişlik gediş haqqı (bir gedishlik gedish haqqy) — single fare
- Day pass — günlük kart (günlük kart) — day pass
Load a BakıKart with a little more credit than you think you need on your first day, because the same card covers both the metro and the city buses and saves you from hunting for a top-up machine mid-journey.