MADRID metro will scrap paper tickets from July 7 and replace them with rechargeable plastic cards.
The new 'Multi Card' offers family discounts and can either be personalised or anonymous, cost €2.50 and can be acquired in any metro station, news agency or tobacconist's, and are useable for up to 10 years.
The 'contactless' card will be more convenient for commuters or regular visitors to the city than for one-off tourists from abroad, but will save the public-sector company around €230,000 per year in paper.
Plastic rechargeable cards can be used for 10-journey passes and for discounts offered to large families or the disabled.
Paper tickets were not due to be axed until 2018, but regional government minister for transport Pedro Rollán says this will be brought forward.
