Do I need to buy a ticket for every ride?
Short answer
No. One EasyCard from any convenience store covers the metro, buses, trains and even the high speed rail — and pays at the shops in between.
One card, unusually far
EasyCard runs on the metro and buses as you would expect, but its official scope keeps going: Taiwan Railway, Taiwan High Speed Rail, taxis, ferries and the YouBike shared bicycles are all on the list.
It also works as small-change money — convenience stores, supermarkets, food and drink places and plenty of other counters take it. That combination is what makes it the first purchase of the trip rather than a transport detail.
Getting one, and filling it
The card is sold at the four big convenience store chains — 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Hi-Life, OK Mart — and at metro information counters. Top-ups happen at the same convenience stores and at machines in the stations.
Cash is the medium for topping up. Load a comfortable amount early and the rest of the trip is tapping, not queuing.
How riding works
Tap in at the gate, tap out where you exit, and the fare settles itself by distance. Buses vary between tapping on boarding, on alighting, or both — watch what locals do on your first ride of each route.
One habit from home to keep: the card is per person. Passing one card back over the gate for a second rider does not work here any more than it does anywhere else.
Good to know
- Sold at 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Hi-Life and OK Mart
- Also pays at convenience stores and many shops
- Tap in and tap out — fares are distance-based
No. One rechargeable IC card taps you through almost every train, subway and bus in the country.
No. A QR code in a payment app covers every line, and contactless bank cards work at the gates too.
On the BTS, a Rabbit card ends the queueing. But Bangkok's rail is two separate systems, and the underground MRT is not covered by it.
No. One rechargeable transit card covers subway, buses and taxis, and any convenience store sells and tops one up.