Sofia city hall is considering whether to implement an alternative to the traditional ticketing system in public transport, offering the passengers the option to pay viaSMS, Sega daily reported on March 25.

Ticket inspectors would verify payment using special devices that would check the mobile telephone of the passenger - a system that already exists in Finland.

A similar type of payment has been implemented for the limited-parking "blue zone" areas in the city centre.

All three Bulgarian mobile operators were ready to offer such service. Still, the city hall had to agree with the operators for a single price to be charged for the service. It was not clear how the new system would affect the ticket prices, given that a commission would be paid for servicing the system.

According to municipal councillors, quoted by Sega daily, the idea for SMS payment was interesting, but still very raw. The system could be implemented only after the implementation of e-ticket system in the entire public transport, they said.

The e-ticket system would be implemented on July 1 2008 in the Sofia trams and trolley busses, according to Sega. Pass-holders would be able to charge their passes using devices similar to ATMs. Paper tickets, however, would remain in use until the e-ticket system is implemented in busses.