How to use the city card
Instruction for Use of Tickets
In the Form of Electronic Proximity Cards
The Instruction contains basic information on proximity cards, including the Warsaw City Travelcard (Warszawska Karta Miejska).
ZTM recommends: check your ticket validity term regularly while you use it.
Relevant terms
1. ZTM – Public Transport Authority in Warsaw (Zarząd Transportu Miejskiego w Warszawie).
2. Electronic Proximity Card (abbreviated to: Card) – a ticket issued by ZTM in the form of Warsaw City Travelcard (Warszawska Karta Miejska) (abbreviated to: WKM) and cards introduced or approved by ZTM.
3. Personalized Proximity Card (abbreviated to: Personalized Card). A card with printed first name, last name and an up-to-date photograph of the holder. The card is issued in the form of a personalized WKM and other cards introduced or approved by ZTM.
4. Ticket – a document of transport in the form of electronic proximity card issued as “Warsaw City Travelcard” (Warszawska Karta Miejska) or other cards introduced or approved by ZTM, hereinafter referred to as Card.
5. Type of Ticket – a collection of ticket features specifying the ticket validity length from the moment of its activation and the territorial scope of its application.
6. Category of ticket – features of the ticket specifying the extent of fare reduction granted.
7. Activation – validating of the ticket by recording a relevant electronic entry thereon – bringing the ticket in the form of a Card to the designated area of the validating device or a metro gate.
Basic Information Regarding Tickets in the Form of Electronic Proximity Cards
1. A ticket in the form of a Card, which was not activated does not entitle one to travel by public transport.
2. The card does not bear any external information regarding the ticket.
3. The Card ticket validity term can be read with the validating device or a metro gate.
4. A personal ticket can be in the form of the Personalized Card only.
5. A bearer ticket can be in the form of any Card.
6. The printout from the encoding device, a fiscal receipt or the printout confirming purchase of the ticket by way of Internet sale shall not be a proof of entitlement to travel by local public transport means.
7. Activation of a Card ticket is required when:
1) The ticket was encoded for the first time,
2) The ticket was encoded after expiry of the previously encoded ticket,
3) A ticket of a different type or category was encoded during the validity of the previous ticket,
4) A ticket of the same type and category from the Ticket Tariff in place was encoded during the validity of the previous ticket from the non-binding Ticket Tariff.
8. The ticket should be activated immediately after entering the vehicle, in the situation when the travel is performed by ground transport means or at the moment when the ticket zone borderline in the metro is crossed (at the gates or the validation devices at the lifts).
Purchase of the Ticket in the Card Form by Way of Stationary Sale of Tickets
1. Every purchase of a ticket in the form of a Card is confirmed by the printout of the transaction date, type of ticket, its price, marking of the point of sale in which it was effected as well as the Card number. The printout constitutes the basis for complaint.
2. It is possible to purchase no more than two tickets of the same type and category with the reservation that the second ticket shall be purchased once the previous ticket is activated first.
3. In the case mentioned in item 2 the validity period of the previously purchased ticket is extended automatically by the number of days for the given ticket, subject to item 4.
4. Removal and loss of an unused section of the current ticket before its expiry date takes place at the moment when a different type or category ticket is purchased during the validity of the current ticket.
The Principles of Adequate Use of Proximity Cards
1. A ticket may be activated when the Card is brought near the area of the validating device/metro gate within the distance from 0 to 10 cm, irrespective of the place where it is kept (e.g. in a bag, in a purse).
2. ZTM does not cover losses resulting from unintended activation of a Card ticket.
3. The card must not be broken, bent, exposed to high temperatures, action of chemicals or strong magnetic or electric fields, or be mechanically damaged in any manner whatsoever (e.g. by making holes in it or by cutting it). Such activities might cause dysfunction of the Card.
4. The Card may be kept safely together with other cards (e.g. payment cards).
5. The Card should be brought near the validating device as a single card at a time. Bringing more than one card to the device may disenable the reading or activation of the ticket.
Information Obtained from the Display Unit of the Validating Device/Metro Gate
1. An activated ticket may be brought near the validating device/metro gate at any moment in order to collect the information regarding its validity expiry date.
2. Signal on the validating device/metro gate:
1) A green light signal and one short sound signal confirm that the ticket is valid (or it has been activated) the validating device displays the date and time of the ticket validity expiry, e.g.:
“VALID TO: 30/09/2014 23:59”;
2) A yellow light signal and two short sound signals confirm that the ticket is valid, the text “EXPIRY APPROACHING” says that the end of the ticket validity is approaching; in addition, the validating device displays the ticket validity expiry, e.g.: “VALID TO: 30/09/2014 23:59”;
3) A red light signal and a long sound signal inform that the ticket is incorrect – most often, it means that the period of its validity has expired, that the ticket is invalid in the given zone or that more than one card have been brought near the device; at the same time the message describing the kind of irregularity is displayed.
