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Do the ticket machines on the buses and trams in Warsaw take Google Pay or tap credit cards?
The Warsaw Transport website says:
The Public Transport Authority develops a ticket machine network. At the time it includes all buses, trams and SKM trains.
It doesn't say whether those ticket machines require cash (I hope not!) or take Google Pay or tap credit cards?
I am no help - I just called Uber…..
My credit card didn't work in a small, street-side machine in 2018 when I tried to buy a ticket. I suspect that was an insert-the-card machine rather than a tap machine, but I do not remember. There's a pretty good chance you can tap to pay now; that's what I'm doing in Tallinn and did last week in Helsinki.
TexasTravelmom, I may end up doing the same, if my card doesn't work!
acraven, good confirmation for Tallinn, where I'll be heading a week after Warsaw.
Maybe everyone carries correct change. It wasn't long ago that you had to do the same in my town.
Onboard ticket machines take only cards (both chip&pin and contactless), no cash, and you can't buy tickets from the driver. Ticket machines at bus/tram stops and train/metro stations take cash and cards. You can also buy tickets via mobile apps, most popular is jakdojade which is also a journey planner.
No idea about Google pay, I don't use it.
Thanks, qq, about the info on using cards onboard and at ticket machines.
And thanks for the info about the app. I saw that there are quite a few and wasn't looking forward to trying to choose one.
We couldn’t get our cards to tap on transit in Tallinn last fall, but it was easy to purchase the tickets on line and then scan the QR code when we boarded a tram, bus, etc. You could buy amounts for more than one journey and the system would deduct from this “account” as you took rides.
Good to know, eef. It sounds like I need to be prepared to use the app. Thanks!
You can also buy tickets via mobile apps, most popular is jakdojade which is also a journey planner.
qq, thanks for the recommendation for the Jakdojade mobile app. You saved me a lot of time for comparison research.
I downloaded the app, easily set it up via an existing GMail account and connected it to my Google Pay so I don't have to provide my credit card directly - an added bonus. I can see how easy it will be to buy Time Limit tickets as well as the 72 hour Short Term tickets that I plan to (validate and then) use.
Thanks so much for the recommendation. Now I'm going to enter the stops near my hotel for easy trip planning.
I want to provide some feedback on the Jakdojade app, as it relates to tourists.
The app is very good:
I appreciated having the app for those capabilities as I was using transit regularly to tame the city distances.
For a tourist, I view the app has a shortcoming;
- to buy tickets, you load money into your account
- you can load values of PLN 10, 25, 50 or 100
- transit tickets cost amounts like PLN 3.40 (20 minute ticket) or PLN 36 (72 hour ticket.)
If you load, say, PLN 50 to buy a ticket for PLN 36, you're left with a balance.
This would not be a problem for a resident, but I don't know what process you would follow to redeem a balance after leaving. I didn't want to find out. And perhaps for small residuals, it's not a big deal to let it go. But I don't want to pay that "tax" for my transit.
So I bought my 3 day paper ticket passes at ticket machines for the exact amount, validated them on first boarding, and kept them accessible in case of ticket checks.
There may be apps that allow you to buy with exact value. I did not research this.
After 2 years of inactivity, jakdojade will contact you to close your account and return your remaining money. You can, of course, close it earlier by sending an email request and the money will be returned by the same method used to load them. Even you fail to respond after 2 years, you will still have 6 years to request your money back, but they will be kept in a "technical account" so not available for ticket purchase.
Jakdojade can be used for buying tickets in about 30 cities in Poland, not only Warsaw, so it's useful for visitors from Europe as they travel to Poland much more often than once in a couple of years. If it's a one off vist then indeed, paper tickets are less fuss.
There are apps that don't have to be loaded, you can pay the exact amount directly from your card- for example, mpay and skycash allow ticket purchase in even more cities than jakdojade, also intercity trains, buses, motorway tolls, parking without having to look for parking meters, and many other things.
Terrific update, thanks qq!
