By 
Do not take neither credit cards nor smartphones with Google Pay installed with you on Vilnius public transport
While in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, the author of these lines had the opportunity to use public public public transport, namely the 4G bus on 15 September 2024.
What was my surprise when the bank that issued my bank card sent me a message: ‘Vt Biletas.Judu.lt’ checked my credit card, charged 0 euros and that this amount will automatically change and will be equal to the amount you have spent until 15 October 2024 inclusive.
When I received this message, I thought it was a mistake.
The second message from my bank came at night at 00:05 on 16 September 2024: ‘Vt Biletas. Judu.lt’ pre-authorised 0.90 euros and that ’This amount will automatically change and will be equal to what you eventually spent up to and including 16 October’
I wonder how much money in the end, before October 16, 2024, “Vt Biletas. Judu.lt”?
I would like to specify at once that I have a paid annual ticket for travelling in public transport of the Lithuanian capital, which is valid until February 2025, so I had no need to pay for the fare.
I see the reason for the incident as probably the new ticket composters that the company has recently installed in the capital’s public transport, which are able to read credit card and Google Pay data of Vilnius residents and visitors entering buses and trolleybuses at a rather long distance from the composter.
Vilnius residents have been outraged by the malfunctioning composters in public transport before. But the situation has not changed with the installation of new composters, which can now empty the wallets of passengers!
The representative of the JUDU company, Greta Vasiliauskaitė, once admitted in a media interview that ‘… sometimes the composters in Vilnius public transport do not work properly’.
Therefore, when using public transport in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, leave your credit cards at home and switch off your smartphones when getting on buses and trolleybuses!
By the way, the claims of the author of this article, JUDU company ignores and does not try to explain how this could happen, which means that the funds on my bank card and other guests and residents of Vilnius will continue to disappear into the abyss of negligence or intentional actions of ‘Vt Biletas. Judu.lt.’
Perhaps, after publishing this article, ‘Vt Biletas. Judu.lt’ will want to stop the robbery and contact the author of this article to correct their mistake and return my money: [email protected]
by Mr. Balticum
P.S. The real name of the author of the article is known to the editors of The Baltic Review, and evidence confirming the truthfulness of the article has been obtained.
INFO BOX
Here is what JUDU itself reports about its company :
JUDU (Transport services) is a team of professionals in the field of traffic management and organisation, ensuring sustainable traffic in the city of Vilnius…
… The value we create for Vilnius residents: public transport ticketing, parking fees, traffic management and development of new mobility infrastructure. The company’s goal is to provide high quality mobility in the city and encourage rational travel choices…
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