Full Transition to Payment Cards on Buses Deferred to End of Month

Full transition to pay bus fares in Baku on special plastic cards Naqliyat Kart scheduled for 1 March has been postponed again. At this time, the Ministry of Transport promises to do this at the end of this month.

The transition to non-cash payment on buses was envisaged since February 2011 as part of the application of an intellectual transport management system in Baku. However, the Ministry of Transport strongly delayed the process, which was badly implemented in May 2014. Passengers were allowed to pay the fare at their sole discretion either in cash or with cards. At the same time, passengers complained that in some cases fares were taken by the devices but not fixed on the screen.

Full transition to payment cards is a necessary measure in the wake of the first European Games in Baku in June 2015. The guests during the event will be served by more than 300 buses specially purchased in France.

For the convenience of foreigners the Intellectual Transport Management System Center will introduce a Wi-Fi system, which, according to the head of the Secretariat of Ministry of Transport, Namik Hasanov, might be available after the departure of guests from Europe.

It should be noted that the population in Baku is 2.2 million people. The operator of the implementation of Naqliyat Kart is the Bank of Azerbaijan, who ordered more than 1 million plastic cards MasterCard. In November 2014 the Deputy Transport Minister Musa Panahov announced that these cards will be also valid in the Baku subway. In addition, for the payment on buses passengers will be able to use their own payment cards. The due technical work is carried out. --- 08B