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 pass while visiting the city on the Neva ask the following question: “Does the Podorozhnik (travel) minibus accept for paying for the fare?” 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’s 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.
