Hello everybody! I travel a lot and one of my favourite things to do is to collect rail fare cards/passes anywhere I go. My favourite rail transit systems till date are the New York Subway (Metro card) and the London Underground (Oyster card).
My love for both transit systems above is that at first glance, the map looks very complicated! You might get overwhelmed with the different routes and locations, but the rails are very straightforward. Google Maps is always my go-to and now the schedule times are updated as the train operates (i.e. coming in 5 minutes, or has a red colour if delayed). That makes travel more convenient and cost-effective!
@ChinonsoOnukwugha - two Local Guides who love to ride the subway, underground, or metro and post these stations their photos on Google Maps are @Stuart_C & @SergeySud . I am sure they have a photo collection of fare cards.
Thank you @VickyKrish ! I actually didn’t realize it was a hobby for me or a travel tradition (as some would say) until I looked at my wallet and realized I have a stack of fare cards. Then I get reminisce about my experiences.
I’m from Moscow, Russia. Our transport cards are valid for all public transport, including Moscow Metro, bus, trolleybus, tram, monorail, and Moscow Central Circle (railway orbital line that operates on Moscow Ring Railway).
Since the RFID chip is very small, it can be integrated into any product. Currently, Troika RFID is integrated into the card, bracelet, key chain, and even a ring.
@SergeySud - thanks for taking the time to take these metro card photos and sharing them here.
To let you know, I had a death in the family, my uncle. He was the last of my grandma’s brothers to pass away.
I wasn’t able to acknowledge you as quickly as you wanted. I have taken his death personally hard because my grandparents’ generation is now gone. The sense of mortality is real for me.
Thanks @ChinonsoOnukwugha for this post. Here in Calcutta we use this magnetic card, given by West Bengal Transport Cooperation. However only Government owned Air conditioned bus riding is available by using this card. For non AC buses we use paper tickets.
I don’t use such cards, it’s used often by those passengers who use transport only once. For example, tourists and visitors. This is a non-renewable paper RFID card, called Единый (the Unifying). You can see that it works for all types of Moscow transport.
The card has the name Strelka (the Arrow). An interesting fact is that you can integrate the Strelka card as a software upgrade for the Troika card, which I wrote about above. So the Troika card becomes possible to use both in Moscow and in the region. This is useful for those passengers who travel not only in the city and not only in the region but both in the capital and in the region.
@SergeySud WOW! You are truly a connoisseur for this. I like that you can use one transport card for a variety of public transport. That makes movement much easier and probably effective. Seems like we need to take note of Russia’s transit system as it seems like you all are way ahead!
Loving the Troika already! It’s also interesting the variety of cards they have. Does it ever get confusing? Thank you for sharing.
Hi @ChinonsoOnukwugha No, it didn’t get confusing, because is all the same. You can choose the type of card that suits you, and even transfer your account, for example, from a card to a bracelet. Each time a passenger use the card, on the turnstile display you can see its expiration date or the number of remaining trips or money. The card is also suitable for those who rarely use public transport. You can just put money on it, like an e-wallet. Then the turnstile just counts down the right amount of money for the trip.
I finally managed to find the latest version of the Troika transport card - the ring:
At some metro stations, there is not only a ticket window, but also a reception desk, and there is a showcase with Metro souvenirs and various non-standard transport cards.
Thanks @ChinonsoOnukwugha for drawing our attention to the fare card subject.
I think it is a good idea to collect them because in a few years it will become a thing of the past, smartphone will be the fare card.
I use to live in Tokyo and I remember that the fare card were beautiful, I am going to look after my collection of Japanese cards which is currently lost.
But right now I can a provide a picture of the fare card of Lille, a large city in the North of France:
The reviews on the transport company ilévia on Google Maps are not very positive:1.2. I suggest a new challenge find a company with a even lower rating!
