The long-awaited Navegante mobile application should be available from this month, “if not in May”, said the President of TML. Initially, it will only allow the loading of passes and zapping; in the future it will replace the physical card.
We were already used to seeing commemorative editions of coins or postage stamps, but for the first time in history there will be a special edition of the public transport pass. On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Navigatorthe intermodal tariff that revolutionized metropolitan mobility in Lisbon, Transportes Metropolitanos de Lisboa (TML) is launching a special version of the black and yellow card that accompanies many of us daily.
Produced exclusively from recycled plastic, this edition commemorating the five years of the Navegante will be limited to 5000 copies, and will soon be available through the website 5anos.navegante.pt. Thus, interested parties will be able to order their Navegante commemorative five-year card in this way, paying the corresponding cost (12 €), and then be able to use it normally on their journeys, charging the monthly pass or balance zapping.
This edition, which features a reveal dedicated to Navegante’s birthday, will not be available at operators’ physical points of sale. “The commemorative card highlights the five years of life of the Navegante tariff and highlights its importance in the pulse of cities and in the path towards mobility that is increasingly sustainable”points out TML.
Application between April or May
For those who prefer to store cards on their cell phones, the long-awaited Navegante application will arrive “still in April, if not in May”revealed Faustino Gomes, President of TML, this Monday. In the first phase, the Navegante app will allow users to upload their passes Navigator from your cell phone, including discounted options, and also zapping balances, as well as checking your card details. But only that.
In the next stages of evolution, the Navegante app will take on a greater maturity and will incorporate the concept of “mobility account”, with new features such as consultation of passenger data, request for Navegante cards and the long-awaited virtualization of cards, meaning it will be possible to validate trips using your cell phone. Faustino Gomes promised a travel validation pilot with this app and cell phone to “still this year”, and this experience will take place at Carris Metropolitana. For 2024, a “first pilot” payment for travel with bank cardalso on Carris Metropolitana.
The Navegante application will be available to iOS It is Androidand will have the “Navegante +Ágil” seal, which has been used by TML to communicate the commitment to simplifying and dematerializing processes, and digital transformation within the context of the Navegante tariff system.
“When we build these tools, we build them not only for use by TML and Carris Metropolitana, but so that all transport system operators in the Lisbon metropolitan area can use”recalled Faustino Gomes, pointing out that, even if some operators are more advanced than others in developing digital solutions, It is important to remember that “in the end we work for the same people” and that it is fundamental “leave bridges so that systems are interoperable and so that the image is unique for people”.
While TML is developing solutions for Navegante, which will be available to all transport operators, some of these operators have been working on their own solutions. This was the case with Carris, which recently launched its pass loading application, CarrisWay. For Pedro Bogas, President of Carris (a company managed by the Lisbon City Council and not by TML), “it is important to dematerialize so that people can make payments without having to load the sales network”which should focus more on clarifying doubts and solving problems, and not on directly selling passes and tickets. Bogas said that the September peaks forced the carrier to subcontract human resources for its customer service counters, as it would not be able to meet demand with the usual staff.
Carris is “work on bank card access”having already replaced all validators on its buses and trams to allow “until summer” people can travel by paying with their bank card contactless (Apple and Google Pay included). “This is still a purely indicative deadline”, he warned. On the other hand, Carris has a pilot with Via Verde to use the cell phone on trips, through the application Via Verde Transporteswhich is being rethought. “We already have a pilot and we wanted to make this transition this year.”
Bogas was speaking at the event commemorating the five years of Navegante, where Cristina Dourado, administrator of Fertagus, was also present, who said that “35% of titles sold on Fertagus are now from the app”referring to the Pick Hub application, which was the first solution to allow Navegante passes to be loaded via mobile phone (for use across the entire transport network), as well as the purchase of occasional Fertagus trips. “Payment with bank cards started in October and we are growing every month. We already have more than 20 thousand customers with bank cards”he revealed, indicating that it is a very expressive number.
Five years of Navigator
Since its launch in 2019, five years ago, Navegante has established itself as a fundamental piece in urban mobility in the Lisbon metropolitan area (amL). Today, Navegante, more than a tariff plan or a card, is a system that guarantees intermodality and ticketing interoperability that enables interconnection with new mobility solutions and partners, offering more integrated products and services. Navegante gives its name to the online portal for information and contact with passengers, the customer service counters, the network of charging agents, a platform for companies and, soon, it will also be an application for mobile phones.
