Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) will renew all ticket vending machines in the Barcelona metro over the next 3 years. The public entity has started this Thursday the bidding process to renew the machines with a minimum investment of 19.2 million euros.
The new machines will replace the current ones, installed since 2004, and will incorporate multiple technological improvements such as the direct issuance of the T-mobilitat card in PVC format, the possibility of paying with contactless bank card and digital methods such as Bizum. In addition, it will be possible to make refunds, duplicates for registered users, as well as to receive simplified invoices by e-mail.
The plan calls for the installation of between 290 and 397 new machines distributed in the 126 stations of the conventional metro network. The award is scheduled for the end of 2025, prototype development will take place in 2026, and the first machines will be installed in 2027, with full implementation completed in 2028.
The devices will also incorporate barcode and QR readers, remote voice (and later image) assistance, and a personalized title recommender.
They will also offer information on fares, tickets and incidents, and will be available in four languages: Catalan, Spanish, English and French. The incorporation of artificial intelligence is also envisaged, which will enable the number of languages and functionalities to be expanded.
In terms of accessibility, the new machines will include voice commands, private audio output and inductive loop for people with hearing aids.