New cards go on sale at three subway stations in Rome as ATAC phases out magnetic-strip paper tickets.Rome’s public transport company ATAC has begun selling rechargeable travel cards at three metro station ticket offices, the first step in a plan to replace paper tickets with a single reusable format.  Introduced on Tuesday, the new cards can be bought from ticket offices at Lepanto and Ottaviano on Metro Line A and at Conca d’Oro on Metro Line B1. They will gradually become available across ATAC’s entire sales network.   Digital ticket system ATAC said the move is part of a wider shift towards digital ticketing, with the aim of making purchases simpler and bringing ticket offices into line with the company’s automatic machines, where the rechargeable format has already been tested successfully.   About 70 per cent of tickets are already bought in digital or electronic form, according to ATAC. The remaining 30 per cent of sales are paper tickets with a magnetic strip, which the company has identified as the main target of the changeover.   Rechargeable tickets now account for more than 20 per cent of sales at automatic machines, helped by promotions that encourage reuse. ATAC also pointed to the popularity of Tap validation, in which passengers pay by tapping a card or device, and of the Tap&Go purchasing channel, now among the most widely used ways to buy tickets. It described the rechargeable cards as the most effective and convenient option for passengers. What’s available In the first phase, the cards come pre-loaded with one of the following products: 1 BIT (single ticket)2 BIT4 BITRoma 24hRoma 48hRoma 72hCIS 7 giorni (seven-day pass)   Multi-ticket cards can be topped up with up to 12 tickets in total.   Once the initial ticket has been used, the card can be recharged at any point in ATAC’s direct sales network, choosing from the products available through each channel.   From December, all types of ticket will also be rechargeable through the indirect sales network. Cost The card is free when buying at least four BIT tickets. It costs 50 cent only on the first purchase of one or two BIT tickets, as is already the case at automatic machines.   ATAC said this is among the lowest prices for comparable products. There is no charge for the card on subsequent top-ups.   For more details see city website. Photo Roma Capitale.