The CTB (Bizkaia Transport Consortium) has decided to extend the expiry date on all its Barik contactless fare cards by 3 years. This decision applies to both cards already in circulation and the new cards purchased as from next Monday 13 July.
Technical studies conducted by the CTB have shown that the chips built into Barik cards – a pioneering system when launched in comparison with those used by other operators in the area – are still providing optimum performance after 4 years of operation, so their useful lifetimes can be extended.
To extend the expiry date on Barik cards already in use (both white and red cards, with and without photos) all that users have to do is insert their card into any automatic vending and recharging machine at a Metro Bilbao station at any time as from 13 July, provided that it has not already expired. The expiry date will then be extended automatically at no charge to the card holder
