Troika card, Unified Travelcard and 90 Minute ticket: paying for public transit in Moscow

Most Muscovites use the Troika card, which is available at ticket offices for a deposit of 50 roubles (it is possible to return an operable card to the ticket office and get back the deposit). One trip on any form of public transit is 35 roubles and changing from the metro to surface transit or vice versa within 90 minutes is 54 roubles.

Two rate zones are used in Moscow. Zone A encompasses the traditional Moscow boundaries and the Novomoskovsky Administrative Area, while Zone B consists of the Troitsky and Zelenogradsky Administrative Areas and the Kuntsevo municipality. TAT cards, Unified Travelcards and 90 Minute tickets are valid in Zone A. The Autobus ticket and the Unified Travelcard can be used in Zone B.

Unified Travelcard

The Unified Travelcard is one of the most popular tickets. It can be transferred to the Troika card and be used to pay for metro, trolley-bus, tram, bus, monorail and light-rail metro rides. The Unified Travelcard, a red paper card, is also available.

Passengers can buy tickets for one trip (55 roubles), two trips (110 roubles), 20 trips (720 roubles), 40 trips (1440 roubles) and 60 trips (1700 roubles) and also tickets for an unlimited number of rides valid for 24 hours (210 roubles), three days (400 roubles) or seven days (800 roubles). In addition, there are unlimited tickets for 30 days (2,000 roubles), 90 days (5,000 roubles) and 365 days (18,200 roubles). Unlimited tickets can only be added to the Troika card. There are also monthly tickets for 2,550 roubles.

TAT

The name of this blue ticket is the acronym of the Russian words for “trolley-bus, bus and tram,” which means that it is only valid for surface transit. There are two kinds of the monthly TAT tickets –60 trips (1,150 roubles) and 30 days (added to the Troika card for 1,040 roubles).

90 Minute ticket

This red-and-white ticket is convenient when trip length is less than 90 minutes. It is assumed that you will make one trip by metro and then change to surface transit within 90 minutes. This ticket is 65 roubles for one trip, 130 roubles for two trips and 2,650 roubles for 60 trips.

Autobus card

This blue-and-white ticket for Zone B is printed in several options. The one-trip card costs 40 roubles, the 60-trip card is 1,150 roubles and the 30-day card 1,040 roubles.

How Troika card works

Actually, the Troika card is a universal card of all kinds of passage tickets. It is possible to add a Koshelyok ticket to a Troika card by depositing money on it. Up to 3,000 roubles can be kept on the Troika card for five years after last use.

The Troika card can be used to pay for trips on Aeroexpress trains to Moscow airports. It is also valid at many Moscow cultural centres, such as the Tretyakov Art Gallery or the Lunarium Museum at the Moscow Planetarium. In the winter, the Troika card can be used to visit the skating-rinks at Gorky Park and VDNKh. It is also possible to add commuter train tickets onto the Troika card.

At the end of October, the Moscow Metro will start selling silicone bracelets and ceramic rings that function like Troika cards. These will allow passengers to wear a Troika device conveniently on their hands. It will be more convenient and will save time when paying the fare and walking through a turnstile.

How to top up and check the card balance

There are currently over 50,000 points in Moscow where passengers can top up the Troika card, including metro ticket offices and ticket vending machines, Mosgortrans transport card booths, commuter train ticket offices, ticket booths, as well as MKB, Elexnet and Qiwi access points, and many other agents.

Transferring money to a card is possible online via transport.mos.ru. The following will be required:  card number, mobile number, amount, payment option choice. A transfer can also be done via SMS to 3210.  

A remote money transfer requires activating the payment by touching a yellow data terminal at a metro entrance hall with your Troika card. Checking the card balance requires the same operation. The Moscow Metro App can be used to activate a deferred payment. However, this service is only available to the holders of Android-based devices.

In addition, a Troika card can be integrated into a smartphone with NFC contactless technology. To do so, it is required to go to your mobile operator’s local office and change the SIM card retaining your phone number.

Where to buy a city transport ticket

All passage tickets are sold at metro ticket offices and ticket vending machines. Ticket vending machines are also located near some public transit stops. Credit Bank of Moscow and Elexnet agency network payment terminals also sell tickets.