site.btaSofia Municipal Council Approves Digital Tickets for Public Transport, Prices After Euro Adoption

The Sofia Municipal Council on Thursday has approved a report submitted by municipal councillors Gergin Borisov and Boris Bonev (Save Sofia), which outlines plans for the digitalization of the public transport system and adjustments to ticket prices following the introduction of the euro on January 1, 2026.

According to the adopted proposal, a mobile application for public transport will be developed. Through it, citizens will be able to purchase tickets, renew monthly and annual travel cards, and add their transport passes to digital wallets such as Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. During ticket inspection, it will be sufficient to scan using a smartphone or smartwatch, with no need to present a paper ticket or plastic card.

“The digital wallet saves time and paper, and reduces the risk of losing your card. Everything will be accessible in one place — on your phone,” said one of the report’s sponsors, Gergin Borisov.

The approved report also includes an update of public transport fares in euros, in connection with the upcoming adoption of the single currency on January 1. The price for a single ticket will be rounded down to EUR 0.80, for the monthly pass to EUR 25.50, and for the annual pass for all lines to EUR 185. The average reduction in prices is around 2%.

The proposal also introduces a night transport add-on to passes that previously did not cover night services - such as the youth travel card. These changes will take effect on January 1, to avoid the need for two consecutive price adjustments after the euro is introduced.

“This reform is the result of over a year of work and aims to make things easier for citizens, without increasing the cost of the service,” said Gergin Borisov.

He added that while the introduction of the euro may lead to price increases in other sectors, the municipality will not allow price hikes for socially important services.