Creditrans
Encyclopedia
Travel card
A travel card is a ticket usable on more than one journey, route or mode of public transport within a specific area using bulk or discounted payment; some systems only cover travel by disabled or elderly people...
used to travel around Biscay
Biscay
Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...
, in the Basque Country
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
(Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
). The card is the most popular ticket in the area, used by over 100 million passengers in 2007.
History
When the Metro BilbaoMetro Bilbao
Metro Bilbao is a rapid transit system serving the city of Bilbao and the region of Greater Bilbao. Its lines have a "Y" shape, with two lines that transit both banks of the Nervión river and then combine to form one line that ends in the south of Bilbao...
system was created in 1995 the local authorities realized that the transport system integration around Bilbao was very deficient. There were four rail companies (five now with the creation of the tramway
EuskoTran
EuskoTran is a light rail tram service which operates in the cities of Bilbao , Vitoria and, in the future, in the town of Leioa , all of them in the Basque Country, Spain. It is one of the three commercial brands of the public society owned by the Basque Government, Eusko Trenbideak -...
) and two bus companies, each one with different zones and fare systems, plus different ticket machines and even ticket sizes.
The Biscay
Biscay
Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...
Transport Consortium (CTB), created in 1975 to build the underground, was the public company that would lead the efforts to overcome the situation.
After some efforts to adapt the machines and information systems, the bus and underground were integrated , the basque railways
EuskoTren
EuskoTren is a commuter rail service which operates in the Basque Country provinces of Biscay and Gipuzkoa. It is one of the three commercial brands of the public society owned by the Basque Government, Eusko Trenbideak - Ferrocarriles Vascos...
soon followed and finally FEVE
FEVE
FEVE is a state-owned Spanish railway company, which operates most of Spain's of metre gauge railway.-History:...
entered the system in 2006.
The only remaining company to join the system is RENFE
RENFE
Renfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1668-mm "Iberian gauge" and 1435-mm "European gauge" networks of the Spanish national railway infrastructure company ADIF .- History :The name RENFE is derived from that of the former Spanish National...
, which operates three rail lines
Cercanías Bilbao
Cercanías Bilbao is a commuter rail network in Bilbao, serving the city and its metropolitan area. It is operated by Cercanías, as part of Renfe, the national railway company...
in the area, the company will be incorporated to Creditrans system during 2009.
Operation
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
value. It can be acquired at the underground vending machines, tramway vending machines, tobacconists and ATMs.
When a Creditrans is validated, the amount subtracted from its denomination is variable depending on the transport used. Also, when using two transports in a row (for instance Underground and bus) a 20% discount is applied on the second trip.
Companies
- Metro BilbaoMetro BilbaoMetro Bilbao is a rapid transit system serving the city of Bilbao and the region of Greater Bilbao. Its lines have a "Y" shape, with two lines that transit both banks of the Nervión river and then combine to form one line that ends in the south of Bilbao...
- BilbobusBilbobusBilbobus is the name for metropolitan bus services in Bilbao.The service is owned by the city council of Bilbao. Operations will be transferred to Veolia Transport, the company that won the contract in May 2008...
- BizkaiBusBizkaiBusBizkaiBus is the name for bus services serving the province of Biscay, Spain. It is named after the Basque name of the province, Bizkaia. The buses can be identified by their distinctive yellow colour scheme....
- EuskoTrenEuskoTrenEuskoTren is a commuter rail service which operates in the Basque Country provinces of Biscay and Gipuzkoa. It is one of the three commercial brands of the public society owned by the Basque Government, Eusko Trenbideak - Ferrocarriles Vascos...
- FEVEFEVEFEVE is a state-owned Spanish railway company, which operates most of Spain's of metre gauge railway.-History:...
- EuskoTranEuskoTranEuskoTran is a light rail tram service which operates in the cities of Bilbao , Vitoria and, in the future, in the town of Leioa , all of them in the Basque Country, Spain. It is one of the three commercial brands of the public society owned by the Basque Government, Eusko Trenbideak -...
- Vizcaya Bridge
- Artxanda FunicularArtxanda FunicularThe Artxanda Funicular is a funicular railway in the city of Bilbao in Spain's Basque Country. It links downtown Bilbao with the recreational area at the summit of the nearby Artxanda Mountain, which has a park, several restaurants, a hotel, a sports complex, and offers panoramic views of the...