What Is the TuLlave Card
TuLlave is the payment card for Bogotá's public transport network — TransMilenio (the bus rapid transit system), the zonal SITP buses, and TransMiCable — all running on one shared Sistema Interoperable de Recaudo (Interoperable Fare Collection System). According to TuLlavePlus (Recaudo Bogotá), there are two versions:
- Basic card: anonymous, no name or ID attached. Costs COP $8,000. No free transfers, no ride-on-credit, and no balance protection if you lose it.
- Personalized (Plus) card: registered to your name and ID or passport number. Also COP $8,000 if you don't already own a basic card — the personalization itself is free. In exchange you get a free 125-minute transfer window, the ability to ride on credit for two fares a day, and balance protection if it's lost (you have to report it blocked).
For a short visit, the basic card is the simplest option — buy it, load it, use it. If you're staying longer or don't want to risk losing your balance, the personalized version is worth the extra step: per the same source, foreigners can register one with a passport, cédula de extranjería, or other migration document — no Colombian ID required.
Lost or Had Your TuLlave Card Stolen? Report It Here
Call (601) 482 4304, available every day from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., to report your TuLlave card lost or stolen. Once reported, your balance is protected and you can transfer it to a new card at any Customer Service and Personalization point. Note: the phone line operates in Spanish.
Per the Bogotá city government (bogota.gov.co).
Can You Buy It at the Airport?
Yes. According to Bogotá's city government (bogota.gov.co, list last confirmed October 2022), there's a TuLlave point right inside El Dorado Airport — Terminal 1, Entrance 4, ground floor. TuLlavePlus's own card guide confirms personalization points like this one also sell the plain basic card, not only the personalized one, so in principle you can pick one up on your way out of the terminal.
The source itself notes that points of sale are subject to change, so it's worth confirming at an airport information desk when you land rather than counting on it sight unseen. If it's unavailable, every TransMilenio station sells the basic card too, including Portal El Dorado, the closest station to the airport.
Do You Need One for a Short Trip?
If you're using TransMilenio, the SITP buses, or TransMiCable even once — say, a single ride to or from the airport — you need a TuLlave card. There's no separate cash fare at the gate; the whole network runs through this one card. For a visit of a few days, the anonymous basic card is enough: buy it, load roughly what you expect to spend, and you're set. You only need the personalized version if you want the free transfers or you're worried about losing the card.
Will Your Foreign Credit or Debit Card Work?
Only indirectly, and it's worth knowing the gap before you land. The official digital recharge channels — the MaaS app and the web recharge portal — list exactly two payment methods: PSE (Colombian bank transfer) and Nequi (a Colombian mobile wallet), according to TuLlavePlus. Neither takes an international card directly, and both effectively require a Colombian bank or Nequi account to use.
What official sources don't say is whether the physical recharge points and kiosks around the city accept foreign-issued debit or credit cards for cash top-ups, as opposed to Colombian pesos in cash. We couldn't confirm that either way in the sources we cite here — so the safer plan is to carry some Colombian pesos for your first top-up, and budget for cash recharges unless a specific point tells you otherwise.
Loading Money Onto the Card
Once you have the card, there are two ways to add balance, per TuLlavePlus:
- In person: self-service recharge machines at trunk stations, ticket windows across the TransMilenio system, and a network of authorized points around the city.
- Digitally: through the MaaS app or the web portal, entering your card's 16-digit number, for amounts between COP $11,000 and COP $200,000, paying by PSE or Nequi (see the limitation above). One detail worth knowing: a digital top-up isn't available instantly — you have to wait 30 minutes, then tap the card against a validator or activation device at a station or authorized point for the balance to actually load.
Will It Work for the Bogotá Metro?
Yes — confirmed directly by the Empresa Metro de Bogotá (EMB): "The Metro will have fare integration with the Integrated Public Transport System (SITP) through the Interoperable Fare Collection System." In plain terms, the metro won't have its own separate payment method — it plugs into the same Interoperable Fare Collection System that TuLlave already runs on. The card you're using on TransMilenio today will be the same one you tap at a metro turnstile once it opens, with nothing extra to set up.
What isn't confirmed yet is whether Line 1 will carry a different fare from today's SITP fare — that figure doesn't have its own decree yet. See our full breakdown of what the metro fare might cost for the current reference fare and what's still pending.
The Short Version
TuLlave — basic or personalized — is already the card for the SITP, TransMilenio, and TransMiCable, and it's the same card you'll use on the Bogotá Metro once it opens, per EMB. You can buy the basic version at any TransMilenio station or, per city sources, right at El Dorado Airport's Terminal 1. Digital recharge only works with a Colombian bank account or Nequi wallet, so budget for cash if you're topping up as a visitor. The only thing still unannounced is whether the metro's own fare will differ from today's SITP fare.