Multivia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Multivia is the name of the contactless card designed for paying the travel fares in the new mass transport system Transantiago in Santiago, Chile. Multivia is a plastic card equipped with a chip, that automatically discounts the cost of a travel when passing the card near a contactless card reader.
Users can buy a new card for $1500 pesos (about 2 US dollars) and add money to the card in the ticket boxes located in the subways stations, and in near future in newspaper stands and small shops.
No personal data register is needed (unlike the cards used in London or other cities) with the exception of the discount-fare Multivia for students and senior citizens (these cards feature a picture of the holder and the name printed on it).
Currently, the system operates fully functional in the whole Metro subway network since 2003, and is expected to be available in every bus in the city by 2007. Multivia is similar to other pre-paid cards and pay-as-you-go systems (like the Oyster card in London's Underground, the MetroCard in New York, and the Octopus card in Hong Kong), and besides the time it saves during rush hour, a trip paid with the card is $20 pesos cheaper than a trip paid using normal single-trip tickets. Also, there are several discounts available for Multivia users, such as cheaper cinema, museum and amusement park tickets, etc.
