The Central Bank of Costa Rica announced that SINPE-TP, the National Electronic Payment System in Public Transport, received the 2025 “Best Smart Ticketing Program” award at the Transport Ticketing Global event in London, in the category for transport payment systems handling 200,000 to one million trips per day. The organisers highlighted the joint implementation effort across the Central Bank of Costa Rica, card brands, domestic financial institutions, bus operators and specialised private service providers. SINPE-TP was selected over other nominated projects including New Jersey’s fare collection modernisation, Auckland’s contactless transport payments, Lisbon Metro’s electronic payments programme, Tuscany’s unified transport ticketing system and Vilnius Public Transport Authority’s electronic payment system. SINPE-TP began operations in 2021 on Costa Rican Railways Institute (INCOFER) trains and expanded to bus routes in central San José in early 2022, with further route additions since. It has recorded more than 25 million public transport transactions and over CRC 11,000 million in fare payments; around 1,400 buses have validators installed, and the system is expected to reach 3,000 connected buses by end-2025, which would extend coverage across Greater Metropolitan Area routes representing about 80% of national fare payments.
Central Bank of Costa Rica 2025-03-05
Central Bank of Costa Rica’s SINPE-TP wins 2025 Transport Ticketing Global Best Smart Ticketing Program award
The Central Bank of Costa Rica's SINPE-TP, the National Electronic Payment System in Public Transport, won the 2025 "Best Smart Ticketing Program" award at the Transport Ticketing Global event in London. SINPE-TP, operational since 2021, has facilitated over 25 million transactions and CRC 11,000 million in fare payments, with plans to expand to 3,000 buses by the end of 2025.