What is e-ticket?
A: E-ticket is the main tool of payments in the electronic payments system, which is being introduced in Riga public transport. There are following types of e-ticket: two types of plastic smart cards (personalised and non-personalised), cardboard smart tickets and paper tickets (for carrying luggage and/or pets and one-time tickets) printed out by drivers. Residents can choose the most suitable and advantageous type of e-ticket according to their status (pupil, pensioner etc.), as well as the regularity of using public transport.
Personalised e-tickets are compulsory only for those passengers enjoying the fare discounts granted by Riga City Council:
100% discount:
1. pensioners above the age of 75 who have declared their place of residence in Riga;
2. parents of six or more children who have declared their place of residence in Riga;
3. pupils of forms 1– 4 of Riga comprehensive schools, where applying for e-tickets will be centralised;
4. persons who permanently reside in Riga social care centres, where they receive social care services paid by Riga municipality;
5. victims of political repressions who have declared their place of residence in Riga.
50% discount:
1. pupils of forms 5– 12 of Riga comprehensive schools, where applying for e-tickets will be centralised;
2. students of day departments of Riga vocational education, professional education, professional secondary education institutions and full-time students of higher education institutions;
3. disabled persons of the 3rd group with impaired vision and hearing capabilities below the age of 75 who have declared their place of residence in Riga;
4. Participants of eliminating the consequences of the accident at Chernobyl nuclear power plant who have declared their place of residence in Riga.
5. Teachers of schools registered within the administrative area of Riga city. 50% discount for one-type transport one-month ticket for workdays.
6. Riga City Council has granted a 50% discount to one-month workday tickets for one public transport route to teachers of arts, music, sports schools, pre-school and interests education institutions of Riga municipality.
75% discount:
1. disabled persons of the 3rd group with impaired vision and hearing capabilities below the age of 75 who have declared their place of residence in Riga;
2. Participants of eliminating the consequences of the accident at Chernobyl nuclear power plant who have declared their place of residence in Riga.
What is the main difference between various types of e-tickets?
Smart cards – personalised and non-personalised. They are necessary for those who use one-month tickets.
1) Personalized smart card is a plastic card with a chip containing the card holder’s data, including name, surname and photo. The card shall be applied for in advance by filling in a special form. A personalized card may be reloaded with the necessary type of ticket in the Internet, vending machines located in Riga city, as well as in trade outlets. If lost, a personalised card can be blocked and restored. You should apply for your personal card in advance.
Personalised smart card is compulsory for those Riga residents who enjoy 50%, 75% or 100% fare discounts granted by Riga City Council.
2) Non-personalized smart card is a plastic card with a chip containing no personal data and no photo. You can buy and reload the card in special vending machines located in Riga city, as well as in all ticket trade outlets. A non-personalised card can be also used by another person and returned to Rīgas Satiksme, if a passenger decided not to use it any more. To get this smart card, a passenger has to pay a deposit of LVL 2.00. After returning a smart-card in functional and technical order to a customer service centre, a passenger would get his/her money back.
Smart cards (personalized or non-personalised) are not necessary for those persons who enjoy fare discounts granted by the state, including children of preschool age, orphans and children without parents, disabled persons of the 1st and 2nd groups, disabled children and persons accompanying a disabled person of the 1st group or a disabled child. Passengers of the above categories have to present certificates confirming their social status.
Smart ticket
Smart ticket is a smart card with a chip containing no information about its holder. Passengers who do not use Riga public transport on a regular basis should buy a smart ticket for a certain period of time or a certain number of trips. At present, there are smart tickets for 24 hours, three and five consecutive days, five, ten or twenty trips, and the range of the tickets will be expanded in the future.
The price of one trip depends on the number of trips paid in advance. If you buy a smart ticket for five trips, one trip will cost you LVL 0.40, but if you buy a ticket for 10 or 20 trips, the price of one trip will be LVL 0.47 and LVL 9, accordingly
You can buy a five-day ticket for one route, one, two or three means of transport.
A 24-hour ticket is valid in all means of transport (trams, trolleybuses and buses), for 24 hours from the first registration.
Paper ticket
You can pay for one trip, buying a one-time ticket from driver, this ticket is more expensive. You can also buy from driver luggage and/or pets ticket.
