Maksim Liksutov about the development plans for the Face Pay, the ticketing system and the Troika virtual card
The Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Transport Maksim Liksutov gave an interview to RIA Novosti where he told about the plans for implementing the Face Pay system on the Moscow Central Circle (MCC) and the Moscow Central Diameter (MCD), the capabilities of the Virtual Troika card and the digital breakthrough of the ticketing system.
«We expect that in the next two or three years, the number of passengers who choose the Face Pay will increase to around 15%. Let me give you an example of how the bank card fare payment system in the metro was developed. It began operating in 2016, and, at the time, about a thousand people a day paid their fare by using their bank cards or their phones. And now, if you take the data for December 2021, almost 900 thousand people a day use bank cards to pay for travel», - said Maksim Liksutov, the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Transport.
According to Maksim Liksutov, the Face Pay fare payment system is planned to become available on the MCC this year. The next stage is implementing the system on the MCD in 2023. Some elements of the Face Pay system will be used on the urban surface transport (trams and buses). Approximately 70 thousand people have registered their biometrics, 5,500 of them use this method of payment every working day.
«In 2021, passengers received the opportunity to pay with the Virtual Troika card on Android smartphones. We plan that the system becomes available on Apple devices», - said Maksim Liksutov, the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Transport.
Maksim Liksutov mentioned that, as part of the Digital Economy national project, Russian developments and solutions are being introduced. New Russian-made equipment will be installed at all the turnstiles in Moscow transport to accept bank cards.
The Deputy Mayor Liksutov added that thanks to the SberTroika, a joint venture with the Sberbank, the ticketing system is being successfully promoted in the Russian cities and regions. Currently, the unified ticketing system based on the capital’s Troika card works in 14 regions and cities of Russia. This makes paying for travel in these regions as simple and convenient as in Moscow.
«Of course, we consider offering our ticketing system in other countries as well, but we focus primarily on Russian regions, especially those of the Central Federal District, whose residents come to Moscow and the Moscow Region very often», – added Maksim Liksutov, the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Transport.
According to the Moscow Department of Transport, the number of regions with the Troika-based ticketing system may increase to 28 in 2022. They include Rostov, Oryol and the Republic of Ingushetia. The adopting Troika card allows regions to digitalize their transport, analyze the demand for certain routes, control fare payments and revenues and create their own fare menu.