Cardboard tickets, 5-rouble coins and the Troika card: The history of Metro fare options

The first Moscow Metro line opened in 1935. An automated entry control system, that is, turnstiles, was planned. Tokens were issued for this, but tests showed that the tokens often got stuck.

“This is why the first fare system used a card stub ticket, which was replaced with a paper ticket in July 1935. Tickets were valid for 40 minutes, and different colours were used for different directions. There were three directions, one from Sokolniki station to Park Kultury or Smolenskaya, the other from Park Kultury or Smolenskaya to Sokolniki, and the third line from Sokolniki to Park Kultury,” said Konstantin Cherkassky, director of the Moscow Metro Museum.

Tickets were sold at manned ticket windows and automated ticket booths, where coins could be inserted to buy a ticket.

Ticket collectors checked tickets at the entrance and also in the metro cars. A report on metro operations in 1938 said “the number of fare dodgers on Kievskaya Station had increased considerably.”

“There is a simple explanation: people liked the comfortable travel conditions on the metro. They bought a one-way ticket from Smolenskaya to Kievskaya but didn’t get off at the end station. Instead, they walked to the other side of the platform and travelled back to Kievskaya. So, they took two rides and were fined upon arrival at Kievskaya,” Cherkassky said.

The first metro tickets cost 50 kopecks, which was a convenient sum for payments. However, it made metro travel somewhat expensive, and hence people saw the metro as entertainment rather than simply transport. Therefore, the fare was reduced to 40 and, by the autumn of 1935, to 30 kopecks, and then the number of passengers increased considerably.

Later, the metro started selling ticket books for several trips, which cut the fare per trip to approximately 25 kopecks.

Return tickets and a five-year automation plan

Return tickets became popular during the Great Patriotic War of 1941−1945, when people could buy roundtrip tickets in the morning. This helped save on resources and personnel. The fare was raised to 40 kopecks during the war and to 50 in 1947. Later, monthly, three-month and six-month travel cards were introduced; they included the holder’s photograph.

“At the same time, ordinary paper tickets remained in use until 1956, when a five-year automation plan was approved. A new technology created for this marked the country’s development road for the next decade. The use of new technology in the metro created the foundations for enhanced travel safety in the metro,” Konstantin Cherkassky said.

The authorities also announced a competition for the best design of an automated one-way turnstile. The best of 32 designs was implemented. It included the use of special tokens and only opened to the passengers who inserted the tokens. This ensured a high throughput capacity of some 2,000 people per hour.

Initially, the token cost 50 kopecks, which became 5 kopecks following rouble redenomination in 1961. Metro tokens gave way to a 5-kopeck coin, which was minted in large amounts. The metro fare remained stable for 30 years, until it was raised to 15 kopecks in 1991. For a short while from April 1991 to March 1992, some turnstiles accepted a 5-kopeck coin while others only opened if you inserted three such coins.

“Since the 5 kopeck coin was the most popular coin, some turnstiles were readjusted. There were change booths at all metro stations. They were designed in the early 1960s and installed by April 1970,” the museum director said.

There were also monthly travel cards. A monthly travel card by trolleybus, bus, tram and metro cost 6 roubles, and a monthly metro card cost 3 roubles.

Falsified tokens and a technological breakthrough

Turnstiles were readjusted to accept only metal tokens from 1 March 1992 and plastic tokens from 15 November.

“Plastic tokens were easily forged. False tokens were made at a button factory and were delivered to Moscow by the truckload. The metro authorities announced that plastic tokens would be withdrawn from circulation soon, and people started bringing bags filled with forged plastic tokens, demanding that they be changed for money,” Cherkassky said.

Plastic tokens were withdrawn from circulation in February 1999.

A technological breakthrough on 1 September 1997 led to the appearance of magnetic stripe tickets, which were soon replaced with contactless cards, which are used to this day.

Magnetic stripe tickets allowed monitoring the passenger flow in real time and could be used to introduce different fare rates. Passengers can choose their own rate by buying cards for two, five, 10 or more trips.

“The first contactless cards were issued to journalists who covered the celebrations of Moscow’s 850th anniversary,” the museum director said.

The rates were revised in 2013, which led to the appearance of Troika cards and 90 minute tickets. Tickets for 20 and 60 trips became cheaper, while the cost of one, two and five trips was increased.

The Moscow Metro has not stopped in its development. It comprises 12 lines with a total length of 346 kilometres and 206 stations, including 46 that have been declared cultural landmarks.

The metro carries over eight million passengers on weekdays, with average passenger routes totalling some 14.6 kilometres. Each day, over 10,000 trains operate on metro lines at up to 90-second service intervals.