Bialystok public transport with an innovative smart tariff

This is a first for Poland

Since the beginning of this month, Bialystok boasts a new ticketing and fare management system, which is more flexible and cost-efficient for passengers. From 1 October travellers on the Bialystok City Public Transport can use a smart system that automatically selects the cheapest option for their journeys. The north-eastern Polish municipality claims to be the first one in the country to have introduced such an innovative public transport solution.

Intelligent fare calculation, contactless payments

The new payment system of Bialystok’s public transport is contactless and therefore – safer and more convenient, but this is far from being its only advantage. It saves the trouble of calculating and selecting between different fare options before starting one’s journey. Instead, the system simply selects the one that works best for each traveller at the end of each travel day. What is more, it guarantees that the amount paid will never exceed the price of a 24-hours ticket.

In order to use the new system, the passenger only needs to tap their credit card on the reader upon boarding and exiting the vehicle and wait for the confirmation message. The procedure should be repeated in every transport connection used throughout the day.

Tapping the credit card on the reader is not an instant payment – the card will be charged once the full day expires and the system can calculate the actual number of trips realized, as well as their length and geographic zones.

If their number is low and they fall within one zone, the card will be charged with the respective single ticket prize for 30 or for 60 minutes. If the number is larger, the passenger will not be charged more than the prize of a 24-hr card.

The smart ticketing system of Bialystok does not produce any paper tickets and does not involve any physical contact of the cardholder with a reader or a machine. The control is done with certified card readers, which are considered safe. The system works with the most popular payment cards used in Europe, but also phones and watches with an NFC function, in which contactless payments have been activated.