3. Tickets

Figures 1 to 8 show various tickets as they were issued by the Ulaanbaatar City Transport Authority between 1992 and 1998. The private operators of evening and night busses usually cash the fare without issuing passenger receipts. No distinction is made between tickets for trolley busses and tickets for ordinary busses.

For ages, public bus tickets used to cost 50 möngö but this was changed in 1991 with the outphasing of small currency denominations caused by inflation. Tickets then cost one tögrög, later three tögrög, and for a while the Ulaanbaatar City Transport Authority (Xotyn Tääwriïn Gazar) issued tickets without indicated face value as shown in figure 2. The text in the lower half reads Ulaanbaatar xotod zorqix tasalbar (``passenger receipt, Ulaanbaatar city'').

Old bus ticket without value indication.

With the attempted return to Mongolian script, Ulaanbaatar saw the first tickets where the word ``passenger receipt'' was written using Mongolian script (zorcixu tasulburi) as in figure 3. This ticket does not state the issuing authority but uses Cyrillic script for the words Ulaanbaatar Xot (``City of Ulaanbaatar'').

Old bus ticket without value, text partially in Mongolian script.

With the continuing inflation in 1993 and 1994, bus tickets were first priced at 50 tögrög (see tickets 3 and 4) and later priced at 100 tögrög. Initially, no new tickets were printed but passengers received two tickets for a total of 100 tögrög. Later this habit was abandoned and passengers received only one ticket stating 50 tögrög despite paying the full fare. Ticket 4 has a small running text Xotyn Tääwriïn Gazar on its four sides.

Old 50-tög bus ticket.

Old 50-tög bus ticket. Variant.

Ticket 5 is one of the first tickets showing the new 100 tögrög fare.

Bus ticket in old design, ünä 100 tögrög.

Children's tickets now cost 50 tögrög, and in case a full fare ticket is to be sold two children's tickets (see Ticket 6) are issued instead of a 100 tögrög ticket.

Bus ticket for children (Xüüxdiïn zorqix tasalbar), half value (ünä 50 tögrög).

Later tickets (like in figure 8) showed the newly defined currency symbol for the tögrög, a double-barred sans serif ``T''. Between 1997 and 1998, the Ulaanbaatar City Transport Authority changed their name to Xotyn Tääwär Zoxicuulaltyn Gazar (``City Traffic Coordination Authority''). Also, the ticket design was completely revamped and received a colourful outfit (see ticket 8).

100-t bus ticket used in 1997 introducing the new tögrög currency symbol.

Recent 100-t bus ticket, colourful variant.

The appearance of the tickets changed frequently yet the method of marking used tickets remained the same. After receiving the fare, the conductor pulls the ticket off a roll, tears it partially apart and hands it out to the passenger. Occasionally, the ticket is controlled again when getting off the bus at terminal stations. Ticket holders cannot change busses on one ticket but have to buy a new ticket every time the means of transport is changed.

Monthly tickets exist but seem to be available for limited groups of passengers only as the vast majority of passengers pays the fare in cash.