Kiev – Metro Tokens

I took a photo of these as it’s likely the last time that I’ll see this type of token in use, as they’re currently being phased out from the Kiev Metro system. At the moment entrance to the metro system is primarily gained by using these tokens, although modern systems are also being introduced and promoted. It’s a bit of a throwback for such a large public transport system, so it’s no surprise that they’re going.

At the moment the tokens can be purchased at some clunky machines at the entrance to metro stations, although I bought mine from staff at counters. It was confusing as some staff only sold one token at a time, which I later discovered is the actual rule across the Metro system. I’m guessing that this is to try and push locals towards using the more modern card system, although the queues to buy tokens were still long. However, some staff are more pragmatic and sell them in larger numbers to tourists, probably to avoid them coming back and clogging up the queueing system.

The tokens cost 8 hryvnia, around 20p, and can be used for any journey on the Metro system (more on which in another post), including those journeys which require a transfer. I was going to keep one as a souvenir, but I don’t really need any more little souvenirs from travels, so I thought that a photo would have to suffice me.