Biggest Myths and Misunderstandings

• In 2009, nobody will be able to use public transport without Opencard. Not only the yearly voucher, but also all the others, will be cancelled.

  Opencard is meant for passengers who want to use the yearly season voucher for travelling in public transport. The voucher for 2009 is valid from 1^st January 2009, and it can be purchased only with Opencard.

  From November, you can purchase the anonymous version of Opencard. With it you can buy the transferable yearly electronic voucher for 6 100 CZK.

  From 4^th August, you can also purchase other electronic vouchers, 30 day and 90 day ones. Their validity starts from 1^st October.

  There is no need to worry that you will not be able to use Prague Integrated Transport System (PID) without Opencard. Standard paper tickets and other season tickets (daily, 3 day, 5 day; monthly, 30 day, quarterly and 90 day) will still be available. Complete changeover to electronic fares will happen in full during 2009, and it should be finished by the middle of 2010.

• I have to pay for Opencard. The card is expensive

  Opencard is currently issued for free. The Board of City Prague will meet in autumn to decide about future fees, and the date from which they will be applicable. The price will correspond with the prices of cards used e.g. in Plzeň or Hradec Králové.

  Currently there is a fee of 200 CZK for the following transactions: issue of a new card due to loss or theft, major damage of the card (preventing data reading), destruction, change of personal details that are printed on the card – e.g. name, significant change of appearance (similar to ID, it means a change that prevents identification of the holder).

  Opencards that have been issued before 1^st August 2008, and expired, will be replaced for free. All the services that have been downloaded to the card will be transferred to the new card.

• Data that is part of Opencard can be read from just a few metres distance without knowledge of the holder.

  Opencard’s data can be divided into the data that are printed on the card (name, surname of the holder, picture, and Opencard number), and those that are recorded on the chip.

  Information recorded on the chip of the card are as follows: Opencard number, date of birth (in order to process the discounts based on age), and data that was recorded onto the chip for individual services (such as information about public transport season tickets purchased, which is a part of the service “Transport Check-in System”).

  Data on the Opencard chip is secured by encryption, and by other security mechanisms, it also requires an access code. It is not possible for anyone without the access code to read personal data from the chip, even with the help of a chip reader. Access codes are strictly protected. The strict security precautions prevent leakage of this data. The mechanism that is used to check the status of Opencard and of the PID voucher is equipped with a security module. This module is functional only after an employee of Transport Control had authenticated it with the access code and PIN. Only the service “Transport Check-in System” enables access to the information about a holder’s date of birth in order to process the discounts based on age. Therefore there is only a very minimal chance that the data would be abused.

• The service “Transport Check-in System” is downloaded to the card automatically when applying for the card. The same is true for the purchase of electronic travel vouchers.

  You can apply for the service “Transport Check-in System” to be downloaded onto the card when submitting the Opencard application. In such cases the service will be accessible with the card. If you don’t apply for it, the service will not be accessible with the card. You can still apply for it afterwards, which is true also for other services.

  Immediately after the service is downloaded to Opencard, you can purchase a travel voucher of your choice at a contact point.

  The public transport voucher service is not automatically downloaded to Opencard because this gives you an option to decide if you want it or not. Opencard serves not only as a public transport season ticket. It can be also used as library card in the Municipal Library of Prague, for electronic payment of parking in paid parking areas, and to access the service “I Know How I Drive” on the Portal of Prague www.praha.eu.

• If I use Opencard with a downloaded travel voucher, I have to “check in” whenever I get on and get off a vehicle.

  After the transport service is downloaded to Opencard, and the electronic voucher is purchased, Opencard is used in same way as the current travel pass. A passenger has to submit Opencard if asked by an inspector, who uses an electronic reader to verify the validity of the Opencard electronic travel voucher.

  Checking devices of PID suburban buses will be adapted, and it will be possible to check the validity of the voucher on boarding.

• I can top up Opencard with money, the fare is deducted from the amount.

  Passengers purchase and download the relevant electronic voucher, according to the time period required, to Opencard. The voucher has a set period that it is valid for a designated time, just in same way as current vouchers. After purchasing the transport voucher, no further top up with cash is required until its due date.

  You can top up the card with up to 2000 CZK if you want to use it for payment of parking in paid parking areas. You have to top up the card with vouchers that can be purchased at Opencard contact points. You can buy 100, 200, 500 and 1000 point vouchers. The number of points equals the price. You can use the card for payment of parking in parking meters only if there is sufficient balance. Meters accepting Opencard carry its logo. You just enter the card to the parking meter; choose length time of parking and the machine will deduct the corresponding amount.

• Apart from vouchers I can also download individual fares to Opencard

  Passengers download a relevant electronic voucher to Opencard. Vouchers have a set period of validity, 30-day, 90-day or 365-day. This is same as it is with the existing vouchers passengers are already familiar with. Individual fares, such as transfer and none-transfer tickets can’t be downloaded to the card.

• There are two different cards: “Opencard card” and “chip card (contact card)”.

  There is only one Opencard with two versions, according to the chip used: The card with the contactless chip and the card with the contact chip.

  Opencard with contactless chip is the most common version which enables use of all accessible services (payment of parking, public transport electronic travel vouchers, and identification in the Municipal Library of Prague). The chip is hidden in the body of the card, and therefore only contactless data transfer is used. Information between the reader and the chip are transferred with the help of high-frequency electromagnetic field (airwaves). The chip is hidden, and therefore the card is more resistant. On top of that, as opposed to contact cards, the electronics of this card almost never wears out during its usage. This type of card is ready within seven days of submitting the application.

  Opencard with the contact chip contains both contactless and contact chips. In comparison with the standard Opencard it offers an additional option to save an electronic certificate. Its issue takes up to 21 days.

• Opencard with contact chip can’t be used as public transport pass.

  Both Opencard with the contact chip and the card with contactless chip enable access to all services (payment of parking, public transport electronic vouchers, identification in the Municipal Library of Prague). This type of Opencard has both contactless and contact chip. In comparison with the standard Opencard, it offers just an additional option to save an electronic certificate, and it also offers secure access to the service “I know how I drive” provided by the Portal of Prague. Nevertheless, holders of the card with contactless chip can also access this service.

• There is also Opencard for dogs.

  There isn’t any dog fare that could be downloaded to Opencard. Opencard is for people who can use its services (payment of parking, public transport electronic vouchers, identification in the Municipal Library of Prague, and secure access to the Portal of Prague). Electronic public transport vouchers can be downloaded to the card after it had been activated. Vouchers correspond with public transport tariffs. Dog can be transported for free only when they are in a box. Current electronic 30, 90 and 365 day vouchers don’t enable free transport of a dog (this wasn’t possible with the paper version of vouchers either).

  You have to pay for a dog that is not in a box according to this table:

  Fares for a dog without a box

  P and 0 fare for a dog	26 CZK
  Fare for a dog on the line AE (Airport Express)	25 CZK
  Fare for a dog in zones “P and 0” – 30day	460 CZK

  Fares for a dog (tickets for an individual journey) are the same as the price of a transfer fare, and are dependant on the number of tariff zones that are covered. In outer zones dog fares are not issued.

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