Forget the coins. You'll soon be able to use your cell phone or bank card to pay for journeys on the entire Carris Metropolitana network. The contactless system has been available since the summer on some lines in areas 1, 2 and 3.
You don't have any coins or notes or a pass and you want to take the bus? Soon, you'll be able to do this without any problems, as you'll be able to pay for your trip with a bank card. This summer, Carris Metropolitana began launching payment contactless on board the yellow buses. The technology is being tested on some lines but will soon be a reality across the entire network.
The acceptance of bank cards has been gaining ground in public transport in the Lisbon metropolitan area. Today, payment contactless It is already possible on the Lisbon Metro, the Metro Sul do Tejo, Carris buses and streetcars and Fertagus trains. In the future, it will also be available throughout the Carris Metropolitana network, This step promises to simplify life for occasional passengers and make using Lisbon's subway buses much more practical.
Testing the technology contactless on board Carris Metropolitana started on some pilot lines at the beginning of the summer, namely on the 1624 between Portela de Sintra and Cascais, in the 1633 between Portela de Sintra and Ericeira, in the 2769 between Lisbon and Santo António dos Cavaleiros, in the 2727 between Lisbon and Loures, in the 3001 between Cristo Rei and Cacilhas, in Almada, and in the 3710 between Lisbon and Costa da Caparica. Using Carris Metropolitana's real-time maps, it is possible to find out which vehicles have the contactlesssince the the system is being extended to new routes as the software and hardware in the on-board validators is updated.
Carris Metropolitana is calling this service “Tap&Ride”. Passengers now have a practical, fast alternative, with no need for cash or pre-purchased tickets to travel: all they have to do is bring a bank card - physical or digital (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, etc.) - close to the yellow validator to validate the journey. With the contactless, On-board fares are charged (between €1.25 and €4.50, depending on the type/color of line). National and international bank cards are accepted.
“We expect all areas 1, 2 and 3 to be perfectly implemented by the end of the summer”, “, said Rui Lopo, administrator of Transportes Metropolitanos de Lisboa (TML), responsible for the operation of Carris Metropolitana, at the end of July. "Strictly speaking, the most time-consuming and complex process has already taken place over the last year, which was to physically intervene in all the validators, in all the buses. So, until the end of the summer, we'll be calling and finding out if there are any problems, if the amount actually goes into revenue, if people are charged properly, if the support given to the user is good... So, I estimate that by mid-September, everything will be working in areas 1, 2 and 3”, which correspond to all the lines starting with 1, 2 and 3.
“For area 4 we don't have a date yet, because area 4 has a more detailed circumstance, which is an intervention in the validators that hasn't happened yet. We already have a test validator up and running”, said Rui Lopo, explaining that “I liked it a lot” the entire network to be contactless “by the end of the year”. “It's a very time-consuming intervention, which is why it took so long in the rest of the areas. There are a lot of buses... We have more than 1600 buses in Carris Metropolitana”, he explained. “In the meantime, we already have 50 cars deployed”, he said at the end of July.
The launch of Tap&Ride is the result of a collaboration between SIBS, responsible for the Multibanco network, TML, and a group of technological partners (Card4B, APDU, Axians and AMI). With this innovation, Carris Metropolitana says it wants to reinforce its commitment to more accessible, user-centered mobility, promoting a simpler travel experience adapted to the digital age.
Pass mobile tests
TML is currently working on a completely digital version of the Navegante pass. It will be Navegante Mobile, in which the cell phone will replace the physical card. This innovation will begin to be tested at Carris Metropolitana and will be available “certainly by the end of the year, if not in all metropolitan area operators, in those that carry the most passengers”.
Rui Lopo explains that it is necessary to intervene in the validators. “We're working with all the operators to centralize the catalog of transport and ticketing products and services in the Lisbon metropolitan area - a very old but very important matter; it's a task that TML is responsible for in conjunction with all the operators”, said the administrator of the metropolitan transport company. “The process is very advanced with Metro and Carris, particularly with these two, and this process will greatly accelerate the entry of Navegante Mobile to the rest of the network.”
According to Rui Lopo, “there will still be a more physical testing phase”but “from the point of view of this standardization of the catalog and the software layer that responds to this, i.e. recognizing functionalities such as Navegante Mobile, things are very advanced”.
Passengers have already started to be contacted to be among the first to test this digitalization of Navegante, a long-awaited feature that promises to reduce bureaucracy, eliminate dependence on the physical card and facilitate access to public transport throughout the metropolitan region. With Navegante Mobile and the expansion of contactless, mobility in the Lisbon metropolitan area is moving towards a simpler, more digital experience.
