Bilhete Único (''Unified Ticket'') is the name of the São Paulo transportation

contactless smart card A contactless smart card is a contactless credential whose dimensions are credit-card size. Its embedded integrated circuits can store (and sometimes process) data and communicate with a terminal via NFC. Commonplace uses include transit ticket ...

system for

fare control In rail transport, the paid area is a dedicated "inner" zone in a railway station or metro station, accessible via turnstiles or other barriers, to get into which, visitors or passengers require a valid ticket, checked smartcard or a pass. A sys ...

. Using

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Mifare MIFARE is the NXP Semiconductors-owned trademark of a series of integrated circuit (IC) chips used in contactless smart cards and proximity cards. The brand name covers proprietary solutions based upon various levels of the ISO/IEC 14443 Type ...

technology, the ticketing system is managed by SPTrans (São Paulo Transporte S/A), the city bus

transportation authority A transportation authority or public transport authority is an authority which regulates or administers transportation related matters. Most transportation authorities in Western countries are under the direction of elected officials. In the Unite ...

, which is controlled by the

municipal government A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

. Tickets were first issued using the system on May 18, 2004, when Marta Suplicy was the

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, allowing for up to four rides in two hours by paying a single fare on

buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

. From 2006 it has also been used in the local

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

system (

São Paulo Metro The São Paulo Metro ( pt, Metrô de São Paulo, ), commonly called the ''Metrô'' () is one of the urban railways that serves the city of São Paulo, alongside the São Paulo Metropolitan Trains Company (CPTM), forming the largest metropolit ...

) and on suburban railways operated by

CPTM , owner = São Paulo State Government , area served = Greater São Paulo, Brazil , transit_type = Commuter rail , lines = 5 , line_number = , s ...

History

The original technical design (in about 1997) was based on

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's ticketing solution and provider. But the project was aborted, mostly due software problems with the complex ''Vale-Transporte'' regulation. Around 2001/2002 the project was restarted by SPTrans under the title, ''Projeto de Bilhetagem Eletrônica''. SPSTrans took on the role of Solution Integrator and Sponsor, choosing to have at least two providers for every supply and not to depend on a sole provider, as most other cities do.

Providers

Completion of the project resulted in the ''Bilhete Único'', which has at least 30 different solution and service providers directly involved in the project. The solution was a major gain solving the recharge problem: all cards are pre-paid, and recharge cannot be done on board. Other Brazilian cities failed on creating and spreading a large recharge network. Due to "win-win" agreements with Electronic Benefits Cards networks and the National Lottery network, São Paulo had over 6000 recharge points around the city by 2010. Other software and hardware solution providers are: portals and back-office. *

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: Windows desktops on all parts. Windows servers,

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and MS-SQL on EDI from garages. *

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: Provides the central SQL database and

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. * IBM: Provides RISC servers and

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on central processors.

Fares and regulations

As of January 1st, 2020, regular ''Bilhete Único'' users pay R$ 4.40 for up to four

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

rides in a three-hour period. Boarding the

rapid transit system Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...

or a

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

costs R$ 4.40. An integration between the systems allows for up to three bus rides and either a rapid transit or train ride in a three-hour period for R$ 7.65, provided that the user boards the rapid transit or train in the first two hours. Students and teachers pay half price, while persons with disabilities and seniors have free access.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilhete Unico Smart cards Contactless smart cards Fare collection systems Payment systems Transport in São Paulo