The System in General

The Automated Fare Collection System in trams and trolleybuses of the Capital’s urban transport is the most modern of fare collection systems.

The system is based on a new type of data storage device – CONTACTLESS CHIP CARD (SMARTCARD).

The card is issued once and then it must be topped up (this can be done many times over the course of several years) in the travel card outlets of Urban Mobility Centre EOOD at a fare selected by the passenger in order to become a VALID TRANSPORT DOCUMENT.

In trams and trolleybuses the fare is collected from the card at special devices – VALIDATORS. The validator verifies the information that is stored on the card and approves or refuses (when the card is invalid) collection of the fare.

In trams and trolleybuses, passengers may purchase a single-trip ticket from a TICKET MACHINE. The machine issues a ticket with predefined price, on which are printed all details of the journey: date, time, line No. and vehicle No.

Conductors in Sofia’s public transport inspect the cards using portable readers to establish the validity/invalidity of the card, whether the card has been blocked and data on the last fare collection.

All information on issuance, fare collection and verification of the smartcard, as well as for the data on the tickets issued from vending machines are stored in the central server of the automated fare collection system. This server prepares automatic accounting reports and various analyses required for improvement of the organization of mass urban transport in the capital.