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 s ...

. Using

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Mifare technology, the ticketing system is managed by SPTrans (São Paulo Transporte S/A), the city bus transportation authority, 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 go ...

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

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

, 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 motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

. From 2006 it has also been used in the local

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

system (

São Paulo Metro The São Paulo Metro (, ), commonly called the ''Metrô'', is one of the rapid transit companies serving the city of São Paulo, alongside the Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos, São Paulo Metropolitan Trains Company (CPTM), Via Quatro ...

) and on suburban railways operated by

CPTM The Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM) () is one of the rapid transit companies serving the city of São Paulo, alongside the São Paulo Metro, Via Quatro and Via Mobilidade, all four forming the largest metropolitan rail transpo ...

History

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

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

'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 São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

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

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on EDI from garages. *

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: Provides the central SQL database and

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. *

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: Provides RISC servers and

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on central processors.

Fares and regulations

As of 1 January 2024, 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 motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

rides in a three-hour period. Boarding the

rapid transit system Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separated rapid transit line below ground surface through a t ...

or a

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costs R$ 5.00. 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$ 8.20, 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