Unblocking social cards for Moscow pensioners: has the benefit been renewed?

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Pensioners are a category of people who especially need support and assistance from the state. According to a social survey, the pension is only enough to buy food and pay for utilities.

Social benefits are a good opportunity to reduce the costs associated with travel on public transport. It is difficult for older people to walk around the city, so this method will help not only save money, but also make it easier to move around the city.

What are the benefits for travel on public transport?

The list of travel benefits that apply to passenger transport is quite extensive. It is regulated by legislative standards of 3 levels at once: central, and local - region and city.

At the national level, these privileges are established by the following legislative acts:

• Federal Law No. 220, on the organization of passenger transportation;
• Federal Law No. 178, on measures of social support for the population;
• Federal Law No. 159, on social support for orphans.

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The constituent entities of the Russian Federation additionally have their own regulations establishing the range of beneficiaries and specific benefits for travel on public transport.

For example, in the capital region there is local law No. 70 on social support for needy categories of Muscovites, and a decree of the Moscow government on the procedure for issuing and using social cards. In addition, an agreement was concluded between the city and the Moscow region on the mutual provision of benefits for travel on suburban transport to residents of the capital and the near Moscow region.

In the northern capital, the provision of preferential travel is regulated by local legislation - the “Social Code” and a number of other municipal regulations. Residents of other cities and regions should look for accurate information about available transport privileges on the websites of government bodies of a constituent entity of the Federation or municipal entity.

Who is entitled to benefits on public transport?

The list of beneficiaries who have the right to use public transport free of charge in most cases is established by local authorities. This is due to the fact that urban transport is the responsibility of municipalities and regions.

Typically, the category of benefit passengers includes people of retirement age, WWII veterans, and students.

Travel benefits for pensioners

As a federal preference, pensioners are provided with free travel across the country to the place of sanatorium treatment and back home. Benefits for intracity and suburban transport are provided to them by local legislation.

Privileges can be issued in several types:

1. Complete exemption from payment.
2. Discount ticket.
3. Cash compensation (full or partial) for travel costs from the local budget.

In Moscow there is a transport card, according to which pensioners have the right to travel free of charge, both around the city and in the suburbs. In St. Petersburg, pensioners are given the opportunity to purchase a single preferential travel ticket at a reduced cost. During the summer season, they have the right to travel to the region for free on electric trains, and with a 10 percent discount on commuter buses.

Travel benefits for labor veterans

Travel preferences for Labor Veterans are provided by regional authorities .

In the capital, they can travel around the city on municipal transport completely free of charge, or monetize this benefit by receiving a monthly monetary compensation of 380 rubles.

In St. Petersburg, they can purchase a travel pass at a reduced cost and enjoy discounts on travel on commuter trains.

Travel benefits for schoolchildren

Schoolchildren in most Russian regions are given the opportunity to travel for free on public transport. In Moscow and St. Petersburg they are issued special cards or unlimited travel cards.

cost is lower than that of standard travel cards, and in Moscow is:

• Metro and monorail train - 395 rubles for a month, and 1180 for three;
• Ground transport - 260 rubles for a month, and 780 for three.

In the northern capital, a general monthly pass will cost parents of a schoolchild 510 rubles.

Travel benefits for students

Regional authorities also have the right to provide travel benefits to full-time students of universities and secondary educational institutions.

Thus, in the capital region, in addition to students themselves, such privileges are enjoyed by students in graduate school, residency, and adjunct programs. They are provided with preferential travel or social cards, similar to those issued to schoolchildren. Their cost is the same, and ranges from 260 to 1185 rubles (see above).

In St. Petersburg, travel benefits are also available for full-time undergraduate and graduate students; plastic smart cards with a built-in chip are issued.

Young teachers whose work experience in education has not exceeded 3 years are given the opportunity in St. Petersburg to purchase a single travel card with a 50 percent discount. It will cost a beginning worker in the field of public education less than 1.5 thousand rubles.

Travel benefits for disabled people

Disabled people in Russia, according to Federal Law No. 178, are given the opportunity to travel free of charge to the place of treatment or sanatorium rest. You can use transport for this, both suburban and intercity. The main condition is that the medical institution or sanatorium must be located within the country.

There are no longer any federal travel benefits for people with disabilities.

The list of regional preferences for them is much more extensive.

Thus, in Moscow , according to Law No. 703, are completely exempt from paying for a ticket on intracity municipal transport:

1. I and II vision groups.
2. Persons who became disabled as a result of the Chernobyl disaster, or during its liquidation, as well as during the accident at the Mayak production facility near Chelyabinsk.
3. Disabled people of the Great Patriotic War.
4. Persons who received disabilities during local wars (Afghanistan, Chechnya, Syria).

In St. Petersburg, have the right to use intracity transport free of charge :

1. I and II vision groups.
2. Lost limbs.
3. Those suffering from paralysis of the limbs.

One person accompanying a disabled person on a trip also has the right to free travel.

Travel benefits for children

Federal travel benefits for children provide completely free use of transport or at a discount.

Their provision depends on the age of the child:

• Until the age of 7 years, a child has the right to travel free of charge in intracity and suburban transport;
• Children under 5 years old can travel free of charge on intercity routes within the Russian Federation;
• A child under 12 years of age can travel at a reduced price - 50% of the nominal price of the ticket.

In both cases, they must be accompanied on the trip by an adult. A small child is not provided with a separate seat, but from the age of 12, subject to paying half the price, he is entitled to his own passenger seat.

According to Federal Law No. 159, minor orphans , or those who study full-time in public educational institutions before their 24th birthday, can ride free of charge in public transport. Also, non-resident orphan students have the right to travel free of charge from their place of study to home and back once a year.

How to apply for travel benefits

To apply for travel benefits, you will need to go through a registration procedure, the algorithm of which may vary for different regions.

In Moscow, for this you will need to contact the district MFC, providing its employees with a certain package of documentation :

1. Application with a request to provide a Muscovite social card.
2. Russian Federation passport with Moscow registration.
3. Documentary confirmation of rights to travel benefits: for example, a certificate of a pensioner, veteran, disabled person.
4. Photo 30x40 mm. If you don’t have one, you can take a photo directly at the MFC using a digital camera.

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Schoolchildren and students apply for a preferential transport card directly at the educational institution. An application for its provision can be submitted through the website of the Moscow City Hall. Production time is more than a calendar month.

Free travel on commuter trains for pensioners in Moscow and the region

From August 1, older people who do not have preferential status will be able to avoid paying for the use of commuter trains running between the two regions. Free train travel for Moscow pensioners is possible to cities in the Moscow region. In addition to senior citizens, the following will be able to take advantage of the benefit:

• honorary donors of Russia, Moscow, USSR;
• parents and guardians of disabled children;
• one of the parents in a large family;
• adoptive parents who became participants in the project for property support of families raising older orphans or disabled children under special agreements;
• one of the guardians of an orphan child.

The legislative act applies to all categories of suburban railway trains, fast electric trains “Lastochka”, “Sokol”, “Sapsan” and suburban express trains. Free travel for pensioners is not available in all regions of the Russian Federation. Needy citizens in other regions of the country still have the right to apply for transport subsidies. Compensation will range from 30 to 80% of travel expenses.

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How to apply for a benefit

Reduced travel on an electric train with a pension certificate is not possible. A citizen is required to issue a one-time ticket for a trip. If he intends to return back within 10 days, then he needs to obtain a travel document in both directions. To obtain preferential travel, a Muscovite’s social card must be recoded. You can do this in 2 ways:

1. When purchasing a ticket. The cashier will recode the card himself in a couple of minutes.
2. Using special counters at the station. All actions must be performed according to the instructions on the screen.

Terms of use

To use a social card on transport, the beneficiary must have with him a document confirming this right. For example, a student card, pension certificate, disability certificate.

In addition, each type of public transport may have its own nuances of using a discount card. As an example, let’s look at the rules for using a social transport card by residents of the capital.

How to use the subway

To travel on the metro, you can pay for a discounted fare at the metro ticket office, either for a month or three. Information about this is transferred to the card. To use the card, you must touch it to the yellow circle on the metro turnstile. After this, the green lamp will light up and the turnstile will open.

How to use in ground transport

The process of activating a social card for traveling on municipal ground transport varies for different categories of beneficiaries. Social groups that are entitled to completely free travel can use the card immediately after issuance. Persons entitled to a discount pay the required amount at the Mosgortrans ticket office or through the assigned Troika electronic application.

How to use on the train

To activate a Muscovite card for travel on suburban electric trains, you need to contact the railway ticket office. After presenting your ID and card, the necessary digital information is recorded on it. After this, using the card, you can purchase discounted tickets either directly at the box office or in specialized machines.

Frequency of receiving compensation

Compensation can be received once every 2 years. Calculation begins on January 1 of the year in which the regional department of Social Security decided to accrue compensation for travel to the vacation spot (in both directions) or after receiving it.

Travel documents/coupons

Coupons are issued when the pensioner submits to the local branch of the Pension Fund an application for payment of travel in a certain form, a form that is issued by a pension fund employee for completion. The application indicates the place of treatment, and documents are attached (voucher, course) proving the fact of vacation (sanatorium, dispensary, holiday home, tourist base).

After which the pensioner will be given travel documents, which can be used to issue free tickets at the ticket office to the destination, if the state has entered into an agreement with a transport company in the chosen direction.

Free tickets are issued upon presentation of documents proving reduced travel.

During the trip, you must have with you all the documents proving your right to receive discounted travel in order to avoid unpleasant incidents. Checks are not excluded.

Refund of money spent on round trip travel

Refunds are made when a pensioner contacts the local branch of the Pension Fund, MFC, social security department in person, through Russian Post or through the personal account of a registered user on the official website of the Pension Fund: https://www.pfrf.ru.

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The citizen writes a statement in the prescribed form, providing the tickets on which the trip was made.

Reimbursement for more expensive travel is provided on the basis of a certificate of travel cost in accordance with Rules No. 176 of April 1, 2005.

The certificate can be obtained from the ticket office or the information service of the transport organization whose services the vacationer used. The certificate must contain: the full name of the transport company, a round seal, a signature with a transcript, and the date of issue.

JSC Russian Railways issues certificates at station ticket offices and information service.

The certificate must be submitted personally by the applicant to the PF office. Money spent on issuing a certificate will not be returned.

Validity period and renewal rules

The validity period of a social transport card is usually either 1 or 3 months .

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Before its expiration, you will need to contact the institution that issued this card, presenting the necessary list of documents along with the application. This is necessary to confirm that the right to benefits is still valid.

For example, that the student has not been expelled from the university, or that a person’s disability has not been removed. The card re-issuance time is the same 30 calendar days.

Where to get a social card for a pensioner of the Moscow Region and other beneficiaries

You can apply for a social card at the MFC and at the territorial division of the regional Ministry of Social Protection. When contacting the MFC or departments of the Ministry of Social Protection, you need to come on the appointed day with all the documents and fill out an application. You can also write an application for a card electronically – through the government services portal.

To submit an application through the public services portal, registration in the system is required. After registration, go to the section “Issuance, replacement and termination in accordance with the established procedure of social cards for residents of the Moscow region” and fill out the application.

A notification that your application has been accepted will be sent to your email address. The card can be picked up at the MFC and the territorial division of the Ministry of Social Protection. To receive a card you must submit the following documents:

• passport;
• pensioner's ID;
• notification receipt issued by the institution when submitting documents.

Card production time is 30–45 days. For this period, a temporary ticket for a resident of the Moscow region is issued.

Subway

How can a pensioner get a social card in Moscow if he constantly travels by metro and doesn’t like standing in lines? The answer is obvious - at the subway ticket office.

At almost every station there are ticket offices, whose employees carry out the registration procedure in a simplified form:

• issue an application form;
• take it back.

The whole process takes a few minutes. But this procedure has pros and cons.

The first include:

• availability (you can register the product at the same time);
• speed;
• no queues.

The disadvantages are also worth mentioning:

• minimum amount of additional information;
• lack of consulting staff;
• maintaining the need to submit documents to the MFC.

The fact is that applications for a plastic card are submitted by cash desk employees to the MFC. Here, when employees call, you will need to bring documents according to the list.

Social Security Administration

Of all the places where you can get a social card, pensioners are most accustomed to contacting social security institutions, because:

• qualified employees work here;
• consulting services are provided;
• visitors are helped to fill out an application form.

You can choose a suitable institution based on territoriality - the one that is closer to home. To quickly qualify for a preferential product, you must:

• make an appointment by phone in advance;
• prepare a package of documents.

If you are prepared to wait, you can come to the social security office without an appointment. In this case, you will get an appointment on a first-come, first-served basis.

MFC

The majority of interested parties choose to apply for a pensioner’s social card in these institutions. And this is not surprising - this method has many advantages:

• lack of queues (persons with a pension certificate pass outside the general mass of visitors);
• qualified consultation (employees help fill out forms and can pre-check the package of documents);
• the opportunity to take photos on the spot (elderly people do not have to waste time and money on a trip to a photo studio - everything will be done here for free);
• convenient location of centers and work schedule (in every district of the capital there are similar institutions operating from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.).

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The process of registering a UPC at the MFC is as follows:

• arrive at the institution;
• show your pension certificate at the reception desk;
• explain the purpose of the visit;
• take a ticket to a separate queue;
• after the call, approach the employee;
• fill out the form;
• submit it along with the documents;
• you receive a receipt.

Usually all these actions take no more than 20 minutes.

According to the person's place of work

It’s even easier for working people to get a preferential product - contact the HR department of your company. You need:

• to write an application;
• Bring documents confirming your right to benefits.

Important: only employees of government agencies can use this method.

Those who work in private companies will have to use one of the options listed above.

How to get a temporary discount ticket

While the social card is being reissued, the beneficiary is provided with a preferential travel pass. Its validity period does not exceed 1 month, and in its functions it completely duplicates the social transport card.

To obtain a temporary pass, you will need to pay a reduced price at the Mosgortrans ticket office, or through the Troika application.

Afterwards the necessary documentation is provided :

• Passport with metropolitan registration;
• Document confirming the benefit;
• Registration number of the application for reissue;
• Receipt for payment of discounted travel.