For several years, since 2011, in the Northern capital, a convenient contactless smart card (BSC) “Podorozhnik” has been operating - a single ticket designed to pay for travel in all known types of city transport in St. Petersburg. How and why to use this high-tech “analogue” of banknotes and coins, and most importantly, what are the features and advantages of this means of payment?
A universal and convenient ticket in St. Petersburg
Having BSK Podorozhnik is profitable and convenient. You can use this payment method as an electronic wallet, paying for a trip in public transport within a certain fixed amount. Also on the Podorozhnik pass, you can record any pass without benefits, valid for a fixed period.
The only requirement for the owner of the smart card is to regularly replenish the balance with cash. BSK is valid for three years since the last recharge of the smart card account. The use of a single travel “Podorozhnik” allows, due to the accumulative system of discounts, to save from 1 to 7 rubles at a time on payment of travel.
Externally, the “Plantain” card is a standard-sized plastic with the image of green leaves of a plantain and a ladybug. Recently, the travel card is also available in the form of an electronic medium - a key fob. The cost of a smart card is currently 60 rubles, excluding money for travel. The keychain will cost 100 rubles.
Where can I buy a smart card? In St. Petersburg, the main office of the GKU “Organizer of Transportation” operates, where you can purchase, restore in the event of damage or loss, and activate the Podorozhnik ticket: St. Petersburg, ul. Rubinstein, 32. In addition, BSK can be purchased at the box office of the city subway.
Types of urban transport in which you can pay for travel with the "Plantain" card
The universal Podorozhnik ticket is designed to pay in St. Petersburg not only underground and ground, but even water transport - an individual feature of passenger transportation, without which it is difficult to imagine the Northern capital. Using this contactless payment method, you can pay for travel in a water bus, St. Petersburg metro, buses, trams and trolley buses in the city.
Quite often, tourists planning to use a single travel card while visiting the city on the Neva ask such a question: “Does the Podorozhnik (travel) minibus accept for payment of travel?” We can say that private "minibuses" really adopted this technical novelty a bit later. But at the moment, for the convenience of passengers, many minibuses in St. Petersburg are already equipped with validator terminals. In the near future, it is planned to provide passengers with the opportunity to pay for travel on commuter trains - electric trains.
Where to put “Plantain”: we pay for travel with a smart card
To deduct money from a travel card, a ground or surface vehicle must be equipped with a special terminal - an electronic device called a “validator”. This is either a stationary device, that is, installed directly on the handrail in the passenger compartment, or portable - in this case it is located near the conductor. In the subway, the fare is written off using a special zone built into the turnstile.
To pay for travel in any type of city ​​transport in St. Petersburg, you just need to effortlessly attach the Podorozhnik ticket to the validator (or terminal, if payment is made in the "subway") at either end of the card.
At the same time, a green arrow should light up on the validator board, which means that payment has been accepted. If the payment operation has not occurred, a red cross appears on the scoreboard.
How to fund a smart card account
You can replenish the smart card balance in the following ways:
- A special terminal for APPB travel tickets, that is, automatic replenishment of travel tickets. The APPB device is available at the sales offices of GKU "Organizer of transportation."
- At the terminal or at the box office at the St. Petersburg metro station.
- By sending SMS from a personal mobile phone indicating the smart card number and the amount of money deposited. You can check the short number for SMS with the operator of the mobile network that the passenger uses. Important! With this method of replenishment, a commission is always charged.
- Using electronic wallets (Yandex.Money or WebMoney).
- By transfer from a bank card via the Internet.
Activation of funds on the card "Plantain"
The next step after replenishing the BSK account is the activation of funds on the travel card. This is necessary because money remotely transferred to a smart card will only be available for use after activation.
You can activate a card’s monetary resource in any of two ways:
- APPB. For activation, the “replenishment of electronic wallet” section is selected in the device menu, after which the BSK is inserted (attached) to the APPB reader. After the inscription: “Card is recorded” appears on the screen, the activation process is completely completed, the smart card can be removed.
- Plantain can be activated in the lobby of the city metro by attaching a map to the visualizer. The process is completed after the current smart card balance appears on the device screen.
Review of reviews of passengers using the "Plantain" card
In addition to official information, the opinions of passengers who have been using the Podorozhnik single ticket for more than one year help to objectively assess the usefulness and necessity of a single travel card. In using a smart card, one can note both visible advantages and existing shortcomings, as, indeed, in any consumer service. A careful review of the reviews left on the website of the transport company and on city forums allows us to highlight the following features of this ticket:
- One of the significant inconveniences in using a single travel card - the Podorozhnik travel card requires the most careful use. There are complaints that the card can be damaged or demagnetized. Another problem arises from this: the rest of the money on the damaged travel card can only be returned in one case - when you buy a new Podorozhnik card, the remaining money is transferred within a month. It’s impossible to simply return money without restoring the travel card.
- Another inconvenience of this smart card is the inability to control the remaining balances on a single Podorozhnik pass. You can check the ticket only when paying for the trip.
- The next negative point in the use of a smart card is the remote activation of the card, as described above. This drawback is often noted by people who for some reason do not regularly use the services of the St. Petersburg "subway".
- It is impossible not to mention the absence of “theft protection”. A stolen or lost smart card is easy to use by an outsider.
But passengers who regularly use the Podorozhnik pass also note many of the benefits of this payment method.
- The ability to pay for all types of public transport.
- Convenience. This is the main plus - paying with one touch is very convenient. There is no tinkling trifle in pockets, queues for a token at the underground ticket office, there is no danger of contact with paper tickets and cash change during the “flu” season,
- The system of cumulative discounts. Passengers who are forced to travel to and from work every day, at the end of the month receive a small, but significantly pleasant, savings in travel costs.
- The account can be replenished via the Internet - through an electronic wallet or website.
- Unlike similar “monthly” travel cards, funds not used for a month are automatically transferred to the next period.