This morning the President of the Provincial Council, Unai Rementeria, has presided over his first General Assembly of the CTB, after the Basque Government decreed his appointment as the president of this entity. The Mayor of Basauri, Andoni Busquet, has been chosen as the vice-president of the same entity.

The meeting dealt with, among other matters, the appointment of the institutional representatives of the Provincial Council of Biscay and of the City Councils for their positions in the decision-making body of the Biscay public transport coordination entity.

Among the matters agreed upon today by the CTB’s highest decision-making body were the approval of the governing agreement for the use and maintenance of the new access to the wastewater treatment plant in Galindo of the Bilbao Bizkaia Water Consortium, built in the Urbinaga station of Metro Bilbao. Likewise, the CTB has ratified a new collaboration agreement with the Integral Logistics Technological Centre Foundation (Fundación Centro Tecnológico en Logística Integral de Cantabria, CTL) to provide advice on the implementation of a contactless payment card in this Community’s public transport system, following the experience of the Barik card, as it represents an “ideal” model for the development of the ticketing system in Cantabria, according to the senior management of the CTL.

Users of the 28,000 cards issued free in September 2011 to begin trials on the system and other cards not yet updated can extend the expiry dates at any of more than 500 points in the Bizkaia public transport network: automatic ticket machines on Metro Bilbao, Bizkaibus and Bilbobus ticket booths, tobacconists’, newsagents’ and retailers registered for the system. Just ensure that you complete the process before the date on which your Barik card expires.

In barely two weeks, more than 200,000 Barik cards have had their expiry date extended by 3 years. From last 13th July, the Biscay Transport Consortium (CTB) made it possible to change the effective period of both the personal and transferable Barik cards from 4 to 7 years at Metro Bilbao stations. Starting from next Tuesday 4th August, this operation can be done at a further 550 points of the Biscay transport network (Bizkaibus and Bilbobus ticket offices, tobacconists, kiosks and commercial outlets adhered to the system).

In order to extend the expiry date of the cards that are currently in use, users must go to a Metro Bilbao station before the expiry date indicated on their card and must insert it in a ticket sale and top-up machine, which will automatically update the valid period without any cost for the user.

Likewise, from next Tuesday, 4th August, users can extend the expiry date of their cards at Bizkaibus and Bilbobus ticket offices, at tobacconists, kiosks and commercial outlets and can make consultations or top-up their cards, updating the valid period automatically and without any cost for the user.

The CTB is looking for a group of users of personalised (photo-type) or registered Barik card users to help test a mobile app over the next 4 months. The app is for Android 4.0 & higher OSs, and uses NFC technology.

Today the CTB (Bizkaia Transport Consortium) is starting a pilot scheme to enable Barik fare cards to be recharged via mobile devices. The CTB is currently seeking users to help test the system with a view to improving it to the level where it can be phased in on a large scale by the end of the year. Volunteers wishing to join this group should have a personalised (photo-type) Barik card or a registered card and a mobile phone with NFC technology and an Android 4.0 or higher OS.

Users who meet these requirements can sign up via the “PILOTO NFC” tab in the “acceso a mi barik” [“Access to my Barik Card”] section of the CTB website (ctb.eus). The CTB will then e-mail them a link where they can download the app onto their phones. This new app will enable users to top up any Barik card as many times as necessary just by selecting the ticket to be recharged and entering the details of a bank card (secure e-commerce) for payment of the relevant amount.

. The contactless card of the CTB to move around Biscay using public transport reached the figure of 118,311,765 journeys last year.
. 71.5% of the journeys using public transport in the Region were done with Barik.
. Today, there are more Barik cards than inhabitants in Biscay: 1,209,544 cards.

More information about Barik: http://www.ctb.eus/es/como-funciona-barik

The ticket created by Consorcio de Transportes de Bizkaia for travellers aged under 26 registered as resident in Bizkaia can be used on Metro Bilbao, Bizkaibus and Bilbobus services (and on the Artxanda funicular railway). A total of 603,889 journeys were made using this type of ticket in less that 6 months from its introduction on 21 July 2014 and the end of the year.
Gazte ticket holders are entitled to discounts of 50% on single fares and 20 or 30% on Creditrasn fares.
There are currently 8,200 Gazte type Barik cards enabled for use in Bizkaia.

The ctb is to change the lighting at the Areeta, Moyua and San Mames Metro stations to LED technology.
This is part of the Metro energy efficiency plan, and comes in teh wake of the replacement of the fluorescent lamps at Abando and on 24 trains from the UT 500 series.
The ctb is to invest € 150,000 in changing the lighting at the Metro Bilbao stations of Areeta, Moyua and San Mamés.
This measure is being implemented mainly to save money: the new fluorescent tubes are estimated to use 57% less electricity.

On Thursday 22 January at 10.00 a.m. the Torre Madariaga Basque Biodiversity Centre in Busturia is to host the presentation of the Activate + programme, which is aimed at saving and caring for the environment"