General conditions for purchasing travel tickets through digital channels

You should read these terms and conditions carefully as the buying of a travel ticket through any digital channel provided by TMB implies that you have read, understood and unconditionally accepted them.

These general contract terms and conditions (hereinafter general conditions of purchase), along with, where applicable, the special conditions that might be established, regulate the relationship between the company, Transports de Barcelona, S.A. and third parties (hereinafter customers) that purchase the different transport tickets offered by the digital channels provided by TMB.

The digital channels provided for online sales are the property of Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona S.L., hereinafter TMB, Ferrocarril Metropolità de Barcelona S.A., hereinafter FMB,  Transports de Barcelona, S.A., hereinafter TB, and Projectes i Serveis de Mobilitat, S.A., hereinafter (PSM), with a registered office at: Carrer 60, No. 21-23, Sector A, Polígon Industrial de la Zona Franca, 08040, Barcelona ("TMB").

The digital channels of TMB are the TMBApp and the TMB website.

The responsibility for sales made via digital channels falls to:

Transports de Barcelona, S.A. (hereinafter TB)

• NIF: A-08016081
• Carrer 60, No. 21-23
• Polígon industrial de la Zona Franca (08040 Barcelona)
• Customer service

Registered in the Mercantile Registry of Barcelona, in volume 226, page number 16610, sheet 145.

The purchase of services offered through these channels implies the acceptance of these terms and conditions, as well as the full and express acceptance without reservations of all of the conditions of use of the service and the general purchase conditions published by TMB, from the moment the customer accesses the digital channel. The customer may, at any time, freely access the general contract conditions at no cost and can store them, print them and/or reproduce them from their computer and/or mobile device in straightforward, permanent and direct manner.

Orders can be formalised in any of the languages available through the different digital channels that support the sale.

If customers agree to the content of the general purchase conditions, they must tick the box located next to the following text: I have read and accept general contractual terms and conditions. Otherwise, they will not be able to proceed with the purchase.

TMB uses digital channels to market its own products and services and those provided by third parties and thus the contractual relationship between the customer and TMB is limited to the commercialisation and not the provision of third party services. With regard to third party products and services, the customer would need to make direct contact with the companies that provide them.

TMB's digital channels are aimed at end user customers according to the definition established by Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007, of 16 November 2007, to be used by the customers themselves or people in whose name customers are legally authorised to act. Customers guarantee that they have the appropriate legal capacity to enter into a contract with TMB. Notwithstanding, customers accept, expressly and without exception, that access to the digital channels and their use is undertaken under their sole and exclusive responsibility.

Customers also guarantee the truthfulness and authenticity of the information communicated by means of the appropriate registration forms and furthermore accept the responsibility to keep such information updated.

TMB reserves the right to change, unilaterally and at any time without prior notice, the way in which its digital channels are presented or configured, as well as suspending access to them either temporarily or permanently.

4.1. Procedures for making any type of purchase

TMB advises that the procedures for making any type of purchase of services provided through its digital channels are those described in these general conditions of purchase, as well as others that are indicated during the purchase process.

All of the prices published on the digital channels are in euros and include all the appropriate taxes, as well as compulsory passenger insurance. Children under four years old are exempt from the requirement to have a transport ticket. TMB reserves the right to change, unilaterally and at any time without prior notice, the prices of transport tickets, as well as to suspend or cancel the sale of tickets either temporarily or permanently. Any such modification will not be applied to reservations made that have been confirmed by TMB. It is therefore very important that customers read, print and save a copy of these general terms and conditions and of the rest of the conditions published on the mobile application at the time the reservation is made.

4.2. Purchasing transport tickets

TMB guarantees the existence of all transport tickets offered through the platform.

The purchase of any of the transport tickets available does not guarantee a seat.

Following the established purchase process, the customer must choose the desired transport tickets and indicate the number they want to purchase for each one: 

• Up to a maximum of 5 tickets per purchase in the case of non-personalized tickets.
• A maximum of 1 for personalized tickets.
• A maximum of 1 for discount travel cards in each purchase, and a limited number of purchases of the travel cards during the validity period of the card purchased. 

The data requested will be the minimum needed to be able to make the purchase and comply with the security measures and guarantees required. In compliance with current legislation, in the Personal data protection policy, we inform you about the data controllers and the way in which your data will be processed, as well as your rights and how to exercise them.

Purchase shall depend on the type of ticket and may vary as follows:

• Single bus ticket: can only be purchased through the digital channel TMB App. After completing the purchase process, the user receives a single urban bus ticket on their phone. When the user wants to use this ticket, they must activate it by reading a QR code on board the bus. This reading activates the ticket and enables the user to travel on a Transports de Barcelona (TB) bus. After the journey, the single urban bus ticket is used.
• Other tickets: as a general rule, once the purchase process has been completed, an individualised document is produced (hereinafter “voucher”), on which the tickets purchased are indicated with a numeric code, so that clients can store them on their mobile device or print them. This voucher does not constitute a ticket valid for travelling on the means of transport offered via this platform. Therefore, it is obligatory to exchange the voucher for the appropriate transport ticket before accessing the corresponding transport service using the automatic ticket sales machines available on the metro network. In the case of discount T-Usual cards, the generation of the voucher to be redeemed will be carried out on a deferred basis following verification of the purchase conditions by a customer service agent, who will receive the request online and will reply online.

Singles bus ticket purchased on-line are valid for 24 hours (or less if validated by reading the QR code on board a bus). 

In any case, the deadline for redeeming each particular voucher is shown in the My tickets section of the website and TMB App.

Single bus tickets may not be returned once the validity period of 24 hours has passed or once the ticket has been used.

1. As a general rule, purchased vouchers can be redeemed from the automatic ticket machines on the metro network until the day before a change in fares, which usually happens on 1 January. In any case, the deadline for redeeming each specific voucher is provided in the ‘My tickets’ section of the website and the TMB App. After that date, the voucher’s validity expires and it will not be possible to obtain the ticket or travel pass purchased. 
2. In airport stations Aeroport T1 and Aeroport T2, it is not possible to collect tickets that are not valid for use from those stations.
3. No refund is permitted after 120 calendar days have passed since the date of the purchase and the voucher will become inactive in the event it has expired.
4. If the voucher expires before it has been exchanged for the appropriate transport ticket, the user can request a refund of the amount so long as fewer than 120 calendar days have passed since the date of purchase.

The sales system will send a reminder to collect the tickets when the expiry date of the voucher is approaching (through a notification on the website and the TMBApp and by e-mail).

The validity of transport tickets will be governed by the following rules:

1. Notwithstanding the foregoing, tickets exchanged up until 31 December will only remain valid until 28 February of the year following their purchase or up until the date set annually by the Metropolitan Transport Authority. 
2. Transport tickets are valid from the moment they have been exchanged and give the right to travel on the corresponding means of transport during its operating times, on the days for which the ticket gives the right to travel and in accordance with the conditions of use of the service and the type of ticket acquired.

4.3. Documentary confirmation of the contract entered into

Once the purchase is made, the TMB sales channel will send the customer an email, also noted on the website and the TMBApp, containing the following information:

• The appropriate record of the contract entered into (operation number). 
• Additionally, if the customer has not indicated that they need a full invoice, they will automatically be sent a simplified invoice.
• The customer will also receive the appropriate voucher to exchange for a transport ticket as indicated in section 4.2.

The contract is formalised from the moment the customer receives confirmation of the contract entered into.

The user may request the withdrawal of the purchase of a single bus ticket (refund of the cost) via the digital sales channels, provided that the ticket has not been used and the validity period established in section 4.2 of these general terms and conditions has not expired.

Customers can request to withdraw from the purchase of a voucher (refund of its cost) through the digital channels enabled by the sale, so long as the voucher has not been exchanged or else expires according to the conditions established in section 4.2 of these general terms and conditions.

If the conditions are fulfilled, the customer will not be subject to any penalty.

In all cases it is essential to follow the instructions that appear on the digital channels during the refund process.

Alternatively, to exercise your right of withdrawal (refund of the cost of the voucher or single bus ticket), the customer may go in person to any Punt TMB information centre (check the Punts TMB opening times).

TMB will only order the refund of the amount of vouchers and single bus tickets purchased and not exchanged or validated by the customer by crediting the payer's credit or debit card, within a maximum period of 30 business days from the cancellation request. Cancellations of redeemed vouchers, validated single bus tickets or partial cancellations of vouchers and single bus tickets purchased and not redeemed or validated will not be accepted (this applies to purchases of more than one ticket of the same type).

Under no circumstances will TMB assume responsibility for the terms and conditions applied by each bank to their customers once the the refund has been authorised.

All purchases made through the enabled digital channels will generate a simplified invoice that will be sent to customers by email. For those customers who need a full invoice of the purchase made, we advise that, in accordance with Royal Decree 1619/2012, of 30 November 2012, which approved the Regulation governing invoicing obligations, simplified invoices can be substituted for full invoices within a period of 4 years from the date the operation took place (the operation date that appears on the simplified invoice). Full invoices need to be requested through digital channels before the deadline date set by the Royal Decree. The tax regime indicated at the time of purchase cannot be modified at a later stage.

Payment can be made using the credit or debit cards of VISA and MasterCard.

To effect payment, customers must follow all the instructions that appear on the screen and provide the following information regarding the card:

a) type,

b) number,

c) expiry date and

d) CVV.

TMB guarantees customers total security in their transactions through having access to the very latest technological standards at the time of putting their e-commerce platform into operation with regard to security protocols and services.

For even more security, please be advised that bank details do not remain recorded in any TMB computer system and are only used by the bank in order to process the charge.

Information about the purchase is kept for the legal minimum period required. Customers have the right to information about their purchases so long as they request it before the aforementioned period expires.

The loss or theft of virtual single bus ticket or the transport ticket vouchers is the sole responsibility of the customer, and TMB shall be exempt from any claim in this respect.

TMB is also absolved from any liability if the ticket deteriorates through improper use or inadequate maintenance by the customer.

TMB provides digital channels through which it markets its own services and those of third parties and thus does not assume liability for any non-compliance or damages arising from these third party services, for which customers would need to make direct contact with the companies who supply them.

TMB will not be liable for non-compliances or damages arising from a case of force majeure or fortuitous event. Force majeure is understood to include but not be limited to:

(i) any event impossible to foresee, or which, foreseeable or not, is inevitable;

(ii) errors in access to the TB mobile application or the different TMB digital channels;

(iii) a cut in the power or telephone network supply;

(iv) damages caused by an attack on the portal's server (virus) by third parties that affect service quality but that are not attributable to TMB or to the user;

(v) errors in the transmission, dissemination, storage or release of the portal's content and products to third parties;

(vi) problems or errors by these third parties in respect of receiving, obtaining or accessing;

(vii) fires;

(viii) floods or earthquakes;

(ix) strikes or labour disputes or other major social disruptions that hinder the provision of the products and therefore compliance with the obligations accepted by TMB;

(x) the scarcity or lack of availability of fuel or electrical power;

(xi) accidents;

(xii) warlike conflicts;

(xiii) commercial embargoes of any type;

(xiv) blockade;

(xv) riots, or

(xvi) any government ruling.

Administrative and management areas are not considered as cases of force majeure.

These general conditions of purchase will be interpreted and governed according to Spanish law.

For any legal dispute arising from these general conditions of purchase, the parties will submit to the jurisdiction of the courts and tribunals of Barcelona (Spain), so long as the law does not establish another specific jurisdiction.

Acceptance of these general purchase conditions by the customer is an indispensable and compulsory prerequisite. Customers declare, under their own responsibility, that they have read and accepted these general purchase conditions.

In case of disputes or a contradictory interpretation between versions of these general conditions in different languages, the version written in Catalan will take precedence over the others.

The platform for the resolution of disputes online is available at European Comission official website.

Barcelona, November 2018.