Ostrava to phase out paper tickets in trams
Ostrava, the third-largest city in Czechia, will phase out paper tickets in trams and other modes of public transport. Local transport operator DPO will sell them only by the year’s end. Finally, the paper tickets will be abolished by 31 March 2020.
Instead of selling single journey paper tickets Ostrava Transport Company (Dopravní podnik Ostrava, DPO) will focus on card payments and self-service options. The company introduced paperless payments three years ago. From thenceforth, DPO was noting the rocketing fall in usage of the single journey paper tickets. They will be phased out in two stages. Until 31 December 2019, these tickets will be still sold. After this date, the passengers will not be able to buy them. However, those travellers who purchased the paper tickets in advance can use them in the city public transport until 31 March 2020.
Thereafter, the DPO customers will be able to pay for tram or bus trip by credit card via onboard terminals, via ticket machines located at the stations, by mobile phone and cash too. “We think of everyone, even children who do not have cards and will also need to buy a ticket for cash. For this reason, we will introduce credit ticket vending machines where you can also pay with cash,” CEO of DPO Daniel Morys explained to Moravskoslezský deník. The tickets paid from the vending machines could be used for further payments in public transport: people will be able to put money on them and use them like ordinary credit cards.
SMS tickets
The passengers travelling in Ostrava by tram, trolleybus or bus can also pay for using them via SMS. This option has one limitation: SMS payments are available only for users of Czech mobile operators. There are four tariffs of the SMS tickets: 70-minute ordinary and discounted trip as well as 24-hour ordinary and discounted trip. Each fare has its own code. To buy the SMS ticket, a passenger should send a code to a special number. The money is withdrawn from the mobile account and a customer receives a text message with details about a journey. It is worth to note that a similar system is available in most Czech major cities such as Prague, Brno, Plzeň (Pilsen), Liberec, Olomouc and others.
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