Advertisement

e For Members

How do the new public transport tickets work in southern Sweden?

The Local Sweden
The Local Sweden - [email protected]
How do the new public transport tickets work in southern Sweden?
If you're travelling within southern Sweden, you need to pay attention to these changes. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

Commuters in southern Sweden were left unable to buy bus and train tickets on Monday, after a new transport app crashed. Here's what you need to know about the new system.

Advertisement

December 16th was the first weekday when the new public transport system in southern Swedish region Skåne was to be put to the test for real, after operator Skånetrafiken rolled it out two days previously. 

It could have gone better.

During rush hour on Monday morning, commuters were unable to use the new app that has replaced the old travel cards, and customer service centres also struggled to sell new tickets. Skånetrafiken meanwhile urged its drivers and ticket controllers to be "flexible" if any commuters were found travelling without a valid ticket.

By noon the transport operator said most of the issues had been resolved and that it was now possible to buy tickets from its old ticket machines. It said the new machines may still be experiencing certain problems.

But once it starts working, what does the overhaul of the ticketing system mean for you? Keep reading.


The queue for the customer service centre at Malmö central train station on Monday morning. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

What has changed?

Skånetrafiken, the company that operates buses and trains in the Skåne region, on December 14th scrapped its public transport card Jojo after 10 years.

The old card could either be bought for certain periods of time, or be used as a pay-as-you-go card (so-called reskassa) which gave its holders a 10 percent discount on tickets.

How do I buy tickets now?

If you're a regular commuter, it may be the most convenient for you to download the Skånetrafiken app, which is already used by many commuters for journeys within Skåne and to Denmark. You can download it for Android here (English or Swedish) or for iOS here (currently only Swedish, but an English version is in the pipeline), after which you have to register your mobile phone number and your preferred payment method.

Skånetrafiken has warned that commuters without a Swedish personal number may experience problems linking their bank card to the app, because some banks require card payers to identify themselves using Sweden's Bank ID app – a problem for customers without a personal number or a Swedish bank account.

RECOMMENDED READING:

If you are unable to use the app, or if you are in Skåne as a tourist or only travel occasionally, you can use a debit or credit card to buy a ticket from a machine or on board Skånetrafiken's buses at no extra cost.

If you prefer to pay in cash, you can buy a ticket from customer centres and agents.

Commuters also have the option of buying a 30-day travel card, instead of the app, online or from one of Skånetrafiken's four customer centres at Malmö C, Lund C, Kristianstad C or Helsingborg C.


"Jojo doesn't work here," reads a sticker on a Skånetrafiken ticket machine. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

How much do the new tickets cost?

Regular commuters and occasional travellers now pay the same price, which instead depends on how far you travel.

Tickets range from small zones (8 kilometres as the crow flies, or 18 kilometres in northern and eastern Skåne), medium zones (35 kilometres) and large zones (all of Skåne).

Different tickets and prices apply for journeys to Denmark.

Small zones

Single: 27 kronor

24 hours: 54 kronor

30 days: 550 kronor

Medium zones

Single: 42 kronor

24 hours: 84 kronor

30 days: 690 kronor

Large zones

Single: 105 kronor

24 hours: 210 kronor

30 days: 1,199 kronor

Do I lose any money I had on my old card?

If you have a Jojo Period card that lasts beyond December 14th, you can keep using and recharging it until February 29th, 2020.

Your pay-as-you-go Jojo Reskassa card is now invalid, but if you have money left on the card you can swap it for a voucher that you can use to buy tickets via the new system. You have ten years to replace your Jojo Reskassa with a voucher, and once you've done so, the voucher will then be valid for two years. 

READ MORE ABOUT LIFE IN MALMÖ:

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also