If you dream of no longer carrying cash to pay for your bus ticket, get ready for it to happen – if you live in Curitiba. From next Saturday (16) buses from the capital of Parana will run with validators compatible with near Field communication (NFC) used in digital payment systems.

At the same time, the user will be able to buy his ticket through services such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Play, only when approaching. In addition, all 22 terminals and 335 metro stations in the city already have card payment technology. The bad news: in this case, the commission will be about 2%.

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Curitiba has been conducting tests for payment by credit or debit since mid-2020. At that time, there were only 153 machines with a resource – 109 of them at metro stations and 44 on buses. It remains to implement validators in cars with a turnstile, and this stage has already been completed.

The novelty will not disable the transport card, which works as a pass to the integrated network and has benefits for groups such as the elderly or students, it will be an addition, not a replacement.

Urbanização de Curitiba (URBS) President Ogeni Neto praised the new technology and believes it will serve to increase public mobility in the city.

“This is a technological innovation that brings practicality, convenience and greater security to the user, as it reduces the turnover of money,” he commented. “We believe that we will attract new passengers to the system, such as tourists and people who do not have a Transport Card.”

Card payment will have a fee and integration will be reduced

Despite the convenience, those who choose to pay by card will have to pay R$5.62 rather than R$5.50, the current city bus fare, as the convenience fee of 2.07% will be passed on to the operator.

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The new modality will have free integration with other lines at terminals and metro stations, but outside of them – only with a transport card.

It will be possible to pay for up to three tickets with a debit or credit card, after which there will be a 15-minute wait until a new charge can be made from the same card. Accepted brands will be Mastercard, Visa or Elo. Those using Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay will not pay the 2.07% fee.

Curitiba is the first city in the south of the country with a standalone 5G network from TIM.
At the moment, coverage is still limited to two areas of the Paraná capital.

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Source: Tribuna do Parana.