If you lose your Podorozhnik travel card in Saint Petersburg, the money on it is gone: lost tickets are not restored and the fare is not refunded. The card is a bearer card, not linked to your name, and there is no way to prove the balance was yours. If the card is merely broken, however, the balance is almost always transferred to a new one. Here is how both cases work under the rules of the city transport agency Organizator Perevozok.
Lost card: what you can and cannot do
Under the city's rules on travel documents, lost travel tickets are not restored and money for an unused ticket is not refunded. That is the official answer of Organizator Perevozok, citing the Transport Committee order of 27 June 2007. Whoever finds the card can use the remaining balance.
You also cannot block a lost card. The stop list exists for other reasons: a card goes on it when it is replaced, when the card or the data on it is damaged, or when a top-up looks illegitimate. A report of loss is not on that list, so there is no official way to freeze the balance.
The card itself is not refundable either. A Podorozhnik is sold, not lent against a deposit: the plastic card costs 90 roubles and the key fob 110 roubles, and that money is not returned. The same applies whether the card held the stored-value "Unified ticket" or a monthly pass. Only personalised concession passes, issued to a named holder, follow a different procedure — ask wherever the pass was issued.
Paying while you have no card
In the metro a single ride or token costs 95 roubles under the 2026 guest fare. On buses, trams and trolleybuses a single ticket is 88 roubles, the same as paying with a Mir bank card or a phone linked to one. A ride paid with a Podorozhnik costs 65 roubles either way, so a new card pays for itself quickly. Foreign Visa and Mastercard do not work in Russia.
The card does not scan
First check the balance and the expiry date. The stored-value ticket is invalid if the balance is below the fare or if the ticket has expired; it is valid for three years from purchase or from the last top-up. You can check the balance by tapping the card on a surface-transport validator a second time (nothing is charged), at a metro turnstile, at ticket machines or at the displays in metro lobbies.
If the card is damaged, the balance is transferred to a new card that you buy for 90 roubles. The stored-value ticket is restored at the agency's offices and kiosks within 15 calendar days of the application, and the money itself within one calendar month. Monthly surface-transport passes are reissued the same day; metro passes are handled at any metro ticket office. The offices are at 32A Rubinshteyna Street and 8/8 Ploshchad Lenina, open 8:00 to 19:30 daily.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get my money back if I lose a Podorozhnik card?
No. Lost travel tickets are not restored and the balance is not refunded, because the card is issued to the bearer rather than to a named holder.
Can a lost Podorozhnik be blocked?
There is no official blocking procedure for a lost card. The stop list applies to replaced or damaged cards and to suspicious top-ups, not to loss reports.
How much does a new card cost?
90 roubles for the plastic card and 110 roubles for the key fob. This is a purchase price, not a refundable deposit.
My card is damaged — will the balance be saved?
Yes. Buy a new card for 90 roubles and apply at an office or kiosk of Organizator Perevozok; the stored-value balance is restored within one calendar month, monthly surface passes the same day, metro passes at metro ticket offices.
Restoration rules and card prices per SPb GKU Organizator Perevozok ("Restoration of travel tickets on electronic media" and FAQ pages); non-restoration of lost tickets per clause 1.10, annex 2 to the Saint Petersburg Transport Committee order of 27 June 2007 No. 31-r; 2026 fares per the Tariff Committee order of 29 December 2025 No. 343-r. Checked 9 September 2026. Cover photo: U51N433, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
