The Moscow Metro continues to implement cutting-edge digital and ticketing solutions. As the city opened the new the Center for Electric Transport and Driverless Technologies, several new developments have been launched.
Firstly, the Moscow Metro presented the Virtual Troika payment technology. The name refers to the Troika card, the transport card used in the Moscow Transport. With Virtual Troika, service developed in partnership with VTB Bank, passengers can once again pay for their journeys using any smartphone.
Key features of the Virtual Troika card:
- It can be issued on any smartphone, regardless of manufacturer, using QR codes.
- Takes less than a minute from ticket purchase to fare validation.
- Valid on the metro, Moscow Central Circle (MCC), Moscow Central Diameters (MCD), regular river transport, and surface transport (trams and buses).
- Supports most tickets from the current fare menu and payment with the Wallet ticket.
The virtual Troika card is fully developed using Russian technologies. This innovation is available to all holders of the 50 million issued plastic cards. The digitalization of the ticketing system saves the city 2.5 billion rubles annually by eliminating the need for printed receipts and paper tickets, – said Maksim Liksutov, the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Transport.
To use the Virtual Troika, one has to hold the phone’s screen with the active QR code up to the reader at the turnstile. In trams and buses, passengers can scan the QR code on the validator’s screen using the phone’s camera.
Liksutov added that the Virtual Troika card can be issued in the Moscow Metro app by selecting a ticket from the fare menu and linking a bank card.
Secondly, Moscow continues to expand its biometric fare payment system, initially launched in 2021. Now, the service is available at four stations of the Moscow Central Diameters within the first phase of the project. The innovative payment option is available to all users. The system features bank-level security.
Currently, the following MCD stations have been equipped with the new technology:
Nakhabino (Line D2)
Ploschad Tryokh Vokzalov (Lines D2, D4)
Likhobory (Line D3)
Zelenograd-Kryukovo (Line D3)
To pay their fare with the biometric service, passengers can use designated turnstiles marked with a special sticker. To validate upon exiting, passengers must tap the same card that is linked to the service. Previously, over 1,000 turnstiles in the metro, Moscow Central Circle (MCC), regular river routes, and Aeroexpress were connected to the system.
Biometric payment is a Russian development owned by the Moscow Government. The system has bank-level security, and all data is encrypted. Nowhere in the world is such a service implemented on such a scale and with such convenience for passengers as in Moscow. The first phase of biometric payment implementation has been launched on the Moscow Central Diameters on the instructions of Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin. In the future, when the payment service is operational at all MCD stations and terminals, up to 1 million passengers will be able to use it daily, – said Maksim Liksutov.
Passengers can register for biometric payment in the Moscow Metro app (Google Play, App Store).
