Passengers wanting to ride Ljubljana city buses can from now on use a Mastercard or Visa card to pay for their fare but only the Urbana city card or app will still allow them to change buses for free.

The Ljubljana public transportation company LPP presented the new digital solution supporting card payment on 29 November after launching a new Urbana mobile app earlier this year.

The price per ride remains same, at €1.3, but card payments are only possible for a single fare, while Urbana holders have a 90-minute unlimited transfer window for the price of a single ride.

The new solution aims to increase the accessibility of public transport and comes after many residents and passengers called for card payment to be made available, LPP's deputy director Rok Vihar said.

Ljubljana Deputy Mayor Boštjan Koritnik expects the new payment method to benefit in particular "one-time visitors and those who do not have Urbana".

Apart from multiple rides, Urbana allows the holders to use many other services, such as the city's bike rental system or getting a free bus ride when paying for P+R parking.

The new Urbana mobile app launched earlier this year makes it possible to carry out contactless ticket validation on buses, load credit, plan trips and ask bus drivers in advance to assist people with disabilities or reduced mobility.

Following an upgrade of the Urbana system and terminals, ticket validation through the Urbana app is done via Bluetooth, for both Android and iOS operating systems.

The app allows the users to buy season tickets, check their credit balance and access information about all Urbana transportation options.

Users can pay bus fares for multiple passengers and multiple zones, pay for parking and P+R (park & ride) services, and access their history of rides, parking and credit.

The app includes a map of Ljubljana with highlighted bus stops, car parks, bicycle rental stations, Urbanomat machines, where the users can top up their Urbana cards, and Ljubljana City Library locations, since the card is used there too.

The new app is available on Google Play and App Store in Slovenian and English, and offers a virtual tourist card in three additional languages: German, French and Italian.