KVB in Cologne abolishes ticket machines on trains and buses

Cologne. (ots) - The ticket machines in the 400 trams and 300 buses of the Cologne Public Transport Authority (KVB) are to be abolished and replaced with card readers. As the "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger" (Thursday edition) learned, the company is issuing a tender for a system that will allow occasional travelers to check in and out contactlessly using a smartphone, smartwatch, or debit and credit cards. Billing will be based on the lowest fare, even for multiple trips per day. However, it will still be possible to purchase cashless tickets printed on mini-printers. Implementation could begin as early as next year. The number of people paying with cash on local public transport has been declining for years. In the Rhein-Sieg Transport Association (VRS), and thus also at the KVB, around 90 percent of journeys are made with the Deutschlandticket or the eezy.NRW app. The ticket machines are maintenance-intensive, expensive, and cannot be updated to the latest digital standards. Press contact: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger Newsdesk Phone: +49 221 224 2080 Original content from: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, transmitted by news aktuell Original report: https://www.presseportal.de/pm/66749/6119919