We tried ‘Tarjeta Transporte’, the app to recharge public transport cards in Madrid

to streamline procedures and queries. At a national level, the best proof of this is ‘My Citizen Folder’, which has already begun its pilot test. And at a local level, the Community of Madrid puts at our disposal a mobile application that all those who use public transport will appreciate.

It is ‘Transport Card’, a free app for iOS and Android that allows charge and check the balance of the cards of public transport of the Madrid Regional Transport Consortium (CRTM). At Xataka Móvil, we have already tested it to tell you what can and cannot be done with it.

Only to recharge and check balance

After a long period in the testing phase, the ‘Transport Card’ app is now available to everyone on the App Store and Google Play. It can be downloaded for free on any terminal with Android 5 or later, or with iOS 14 or later. The only requirements to use it are that the mobile has NFC and is connected to the Internet (via WiFi or mobile data).

From the home page, in addition to reading our card, it is possible to access the main menu by pressing the three horizontal lines in the upper left corner. In it, we will find the following options:

• balance / charge: you can check the current balance and/or load the card.

• Credit card: allows you to register a bank card to make payments or check the ones you have registered.

• Bills: simplified recharge invoices are stored here.

• Messages: with notifications, messages and alerts from the app.

• Information: includes links to terms of use and frequently asked questions of the TTP; It also allows you to report incidents and failures of the app.

Both the process for registering a bank card and reading and recharging the balance are very simple and fast. For register a bank cardyou just have to enter your data (card number, expiration date and CVV) and verify the operation with your bank’s app (it’s free).

For check the balance of your transport cardjust press the option on the home page, bring the transport card close to the back of the mobile and the tickets you have loaded and the remaining trips will instantly appear.

If you want to reload it, do the following:

• when they appear the bills you have loaded on that transport card, separate it from the back of the mobile.

• Select the title you want to upload. It can be one that you already have loaded or a new one by clicking ‘Show titles to reload’.

• Choose the bank card with which you want to pay. If you haven’t previously registered one, you can register a new one at that time.

• Confirm that the title you have selected is the one you want to buy by pressing ‘Confirm and reload’.

• Follow your bank’s instructions to checkout.

• Once the payment is made, the app will ask you that you approach the transport card again to the mobile’s NFC reader to charge it.

• when i show up ‘Recharge completed successfully’, separate the transport card from the mobile. To verify that the load has been carried out correctly, you can consult the balance or the simplified invoice.

Although the interface is somewhat archaic, the truth is that the app it’s simple, fast and works well. Remember that it only allows you to load or check the balance of the transport card, it is not used to validate or redeem trips, so we will have to continue carrying our physical card with us.

But hey, at least we will save the queues in the machines to recharge the balance and we will be able to know at all times how many trips we have left available. Hopefully soon, we can do without the physical card.