Integrated Metropolitan Pass Surface Transport + Metro + Train
About this good practice
TPBI-Asociația de Dezvoltare Intercomunitară pentru Transport Public București–Ilfov and its partners (Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Railway Reform Authority, and transport operators: Societatea de Transport București-STB, Metrorex, CFR Călători and Transferoviar Călători) implemented a pilot project for an integrated ticketing between local public transport and the train connection to Otopeni International Airport.
The passengers travelling within Bucharest-Ilfov region can now use a single transport pass with unlimited transfers between surface public transport (bus, trolley, tram) on the STB network, underground metro and the railway train connecting Otopeni airport to the North Railway Station.
STB is the largest surface public transport operator in the Bucharest-Ilfov area. It has 24 tram lines, 16 trolleybus lines and 133 bus lines (of which 40 are also regional lines connecting Bucharest with towns around it). Metrorex operates the metro network in Bucharest which has five lines, while CFR Călători and Transferoviar operate train services on the line from Bucharest to Otopeni airport.
The integrated metropolitan ticket is available as:
1. Tourist Travel Pass – valid for 24/72 hours
2. Integrated Metropolitan Pass – valid for 1/6/12 months
The integrated ticket provides the greatest benefits to tourists and commuters, giving them the possibility to travel more efficiently and cheaper as compared to buying individual tickets/passes for each mode of transport
Resources needed
Because it is a pilot project, the resources were allocated as usual working activities of the partners’ staff and as small software developments. TPBI provided coordination and consultancy, while required equipment for passenger control/validation in trains was installed as part of a testing phase
Evidence of success
The first step of the implementation was to bring together all parties on a common agreement. Then, a technical solution had to be developed to interconnect the systems of each transport operator, as they were not designed for interoperability. Finally, the technical and administrative procedures for the clearing house had to be agreed. The number of travellers who use the integrated PT pass increased approximately 8 times in July 2022 compared to the start of the project in March 2022
Potential for learning or transfer
This implementation is a pilot project, currently in operation only on the rail route connecting the Otopeni airport to the North Railway Station. This project is the first and only ticketing integration between municipal public transport and railway transport in Romania.
The project demonstrates the administrative and technical solution for E-ticketing and travel fares integration between local surface public transport, metro and railway services, coordinated by local and central public authorities and provided by public and private transport operators. Moreover, public transport operators are under different jurisdictions: Metrorex and CFR are coordinated by Ministry of Transport, while STB is coordinated by Bucharest Municipality.
Together with its partners, TPBI intends to extend this pass to include future metropolitan train routes, which are currently being planned. Also, the results are taken into consideration for national wide extension
Good practice owner
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