Every day it costs a thousand Muscovites attached to the card terminal. But not a bank card, but a “Troika” – the main transport card of Moscow, without which living and moving around the city is uncomfortable and, at the very least, unprofitable.
Now it is used in a wide range of public transport: metro, buses, trams, MCC and even MCD. In general, a universal passage for all occasions.
We’ll tell you how it works, what you can do with it, and how to apply for a virtual card.
Short description
Why do you need Troika?
What types of “Troikas” are there?
How to buy a Troika cardHow to fill out the Troika card
How to make and use the Troika device
How to pay with a Troika travel cardTroika card tariffs
Where else can you pay for Troika, besides transport?
Troika has become a universal way to pay for laundry in Moscow.
Why do you need Troika?
The Troika card is a single travel pass for Moscow public transport.. You can write any paper ticket onto it.
It allows you to ride on ground passenger transport and the metro, Aeroexpress trains, commuter trains, the Vorobyovy Gory cable car, Velobike rental bicycles, electric water trams and much more.
In addition, she can take advantage of paid access to attractions, the zoo, and the skating rink.
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What types of “Troikas” are there?
Istoshnik
There are actually a lot of varieties of this card. This is not just one card with different pictures.
A standard Troika costs 150 rubles. It is fundamental and most common. It is distinguished by its designs; the rarest ones are sold for several thousand rubles from collectors. But there are others that serve as souvenirs – they have the same functionality.
Among them:
► rings
► keychains
► bracelets
► and earbuds (disabled for now)
► virtual
Accessories of our own production are also produced for these souvenirs. For example, covers for key fobs and cardholders.
Keychains Made of durable plastic and has a slot for a loop or for keys.
If you wish, you can grind off and put your iPhone under the case to pay “to them” at the turnstiles. This is discussed in more detail in a separate article.
Bracelets Made of silicone or leather, worn on the hand. They cost from 750 to 950 rubles depending on the material.
Rings protected from water and withstands up to 20 atmospheres. Made of plastic and not very attractive in appearance.
In the reviews, people say that the turnstiles do not work as quickly on them as on regular cards. They cost 3750 rubles.
Individual “Troika” The result is a design that you specify personally.
There are 8 ready-made options available to choose from, costing 200 rubles.
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How to buy a Troika card
Mosgortrans and the Moscow Metro have taken care of a wide range of services with which you can get a Troika.
You can get a physical card:
• At the ticket offices and vending machines of the State Unitary Enterprise “Moscow Metro”
• At the ticket offices of the Moscow Central Circle (MCC)
• At the road kiosks of the State Unitary Enterprise “Mosgortrans”
• At the box office of OJSC “Central PPK” and OJSC “MT PPK”
Troika card in the form of key rings, bracelets, etc. available:
• In souvenir shops and at “Live Communication” counters in the metro.
• In the Mosmetro online store
Card expiry date – 5 years since last use.
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How to fill out the Troika card
You can top up your Troika card without any commission. from 1 to 10,000 rubles.
Cash desks and terminals: at metro stations, MCC, MCD, at Aeroexpress, ATMs of MKB, Eleksnet, EuroPlat, MegaFon, Velobike.
In the terminals and ticket offices of the metro and MCC, “United” and “90 minutes” tickets are written onto the card, and “TAT” tickets are written only in the terminals.
Subscriptions for commuter trains and MCDs record commuter traffic data at ticket offices, in ticket machines at train stations, and in Elektrichka and Russian Railways terminals.
The furthest way to top up Troika is in banking applications.
From a smartphone: in the Moscow Metro application, on the official Troika website, in applications of banks (Tinkoff, Sberbank, Alfa-Bank and others) and payment systems (Purse, Yandex.Money and others).
When filling up your iPhone, you need to activate the operation on the yellow validator at metro stations. On Android smartphones, topping up can be done using NFC by tapping the card on the back of the device.
Also, from May 23, 2024, a new virtual card “Troika” appeared.
It is completely identical in appearance and has the same functionality. It differs in that to use it you need to scan a QR/code.
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How to make and use the Troika device
1. Download or update the Moscow Metro application, log into your account
2. In the menu we define, select the third section
3. At the top of Google are all your Troika cards, click on “+” icon -> Virtual “Troika”
4. We confirm the payment method, enter the top-up amount, select the type of ticket (optional) and confirm
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How to pay with a Troika travel card
If you have an Android smartphone with NFC, you cannot carry a Troika card with you and write data directly to it.
1. Download the Troika application. Replenishment and verification
2. Opens it, a special screen appears
3. Touch the card to the back of the NFC panel.
That’s it, you have full control of the card. Here you can top up and check the card balance, select the desired tariff, buy or renew “Unified”, “TAT” and so on. The program will also Google all the information on the card, including the balance and validity of the travel card.
To use the virtual Troika on iOS and Android, you need to open the section with all the maps in the Moscow Metro application and click the QR code icon on the map. Next, a menu for interacting with codes will open. You can either show your scanner from the app or have it scanned in front of you. It all depends on the situation.
As a rule, to travel on public transport you need to scan your QR code in the application.
On the first day, this technology was not available at all terminals; errors appeared and it was impossible to exit the MDC. Now everything is working more stable, but not all MCD terminals read QR codes from applications, so be careful.
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Troika card tariffs
Troika has many tariffs. Let’s consider everything.
Ticket “Wallet”
Provides the right to travel on public transport (metro, MCC, ground transport, suburban electric trains).
One trip on a ticket is equal to one pass on any type of transport. You can top up your ticket balance by up to 10,000 rubles and pay for one-time trips on public transport to any region.
Single ticket
Purchasing the number of events or the number of days.
Gives the right to travel by metro, monorail, MCC, MCD zone “Central”, “Suburb” or ground transport.
One trip on a ticket is equal to one pass on any type of transport.
Tariffs of State Unitary Enterprise “Mosgortrans”
Tickets “Bus” and “Bus-tram” are purchased for a number of days.
They give the right to travel by ground transport (bus, tram) in zones A, B.
Tariff zone A – Moscow (with the exception of Zelenograd). Zone B – Zelenograd.
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Where else can you pay for Troika, besides transport?
The list is actually impressive. For example, we have only part of it. All models can be found on the official website.
For example, at the A. S. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, you can pay for a full adult ticket to enter the museum for the permanent exhibition in the Main Hall and rotating exhibitions.
In Zaryadye Park you can pay for underground parking, as well as access to the facilities and events of the Media Center, the Reserve Embassy and the Underground Museum with a 5% discount.
At the Moscow Zoo terminal, located in the “Souvenir Shop”, you can get an adult entrance ticket to visit the territory of the Moscow Zoo.
Payment for the cable car on Vorobyovy Gory, passes to various parks and observation decks, more than 30 museums and an ice skating rink are also available.
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Troika has become a universal way to pay for laundry in Moscow.
Over the years, the existence of this card, available to pay for its services, has expanded greatly.
The main means of payment is only transportation. It is more profitable to travel almost everywhere with it. Is there a difference on the MCD. I often buy a paper ticket and pay for it with a card a little cheaper than Troika. For example, now on the D2 line a paper ticket costs 55 rubles, while travel on the Troika will cost 57 rubles.
In general, using a universal card is convenient, it works everywhere and always, and also provides a number of advantages and benefits.
And if you don’t need the card, you can always use it return to any of the above cash desks and get your money back.
Source: Iphones RU
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
