In Prague trams it is possible to pay by card, the ticket does not have to be marked
Contactless orange payment terminals will find passengers at the middle door, there are two in the articulated trams.
The system supplier is Československá obchodní banka (ČSOB), which has concluded a contract with a transport company for four years.
In addition to standard payments, you can also use the Apple Pay and Google Pay mobile applications.
The day before the sharp start of operations, one of the iDNES.cz editors outside Prague bought a ticket directly in the tram.
“The control of the terminal is simple and clearly explained. I was interested in the fact that it requires a longer time to attach the card than, for example, the terminals in the supermarket, “he described his experience.
According to ČSOB spokeswoman Michaela Průchová, it was a test operation at the time and now the payment rate should be the same as for regular card payments.
The printed ticket is not re-marked, it states the time of issue and that it is “valid xx minutes from issue”.
“I was also interested in internet banking that a block of twenty-four for the price of a ticket will be used on the payment card, in addition to one crown, so we will see,” the passenger added to the purchase on Thursday.
During the test operation on lines 18 and 22, it turned out that the new payment system was also popular with foreigners, of whom 46 percent were users, mostly from the United States, Poland and Germany.
The new system is more financially advantageous for the transport company. While Prague pays sellers four percent for paper tickets, it gives the bank less than two percent.
The transport company tested the contactless payment in 2016 on tram line 22. However, the first test performed by the then mayor Adriana Krnáčová did not work very well. Circuit breakers went out while paying on the tram.
Other non-cash payment systems in public transport already operate in the Czech Republic. For example, in Ostrava, the ticket is “remembered” directly by the bank card, in addition, the system pays the passenger the most advantageous tariff, such as an all-day ticket instead of several short-term ones.
Fare payment in Ostav works as follows:
Another change will come in the buses
The old ticketing terminals remain in Prague’s buses, but they will also be replaced by new ones in the future.
According to director Petr Witowski, the transport company will announce a tender for their suppliers by the end of the year and they should be available within the next year.
Some of the thousands of vending machines at the stops also have the option of paying by card. The ticket paid by the card in the slot machine looks the same as the ticket paid by the coins and must be marked in the machine after boarding the tram.
“We want to direct the transport company towards a smart company and contribute to the fulfillment of Prague’s goals as a smart city. Every week, we install an average of four payment terminals in the metro, enabling the contactless purchase of tickets, ”said Witowski.
“By the middle of the year, we will exchange around hundreds of exit ticket machines at public transport stops, and it will be possible to pay by card and in cash, as well as search for connections,” Deputy Mayor and Transport Councilor Adam Scheinherr told Facebook.