Deploying a contactless smart card for public transit in Madrid has been planned since at least 2003, when CRTM launched a three-month pilot project to test contactless payments on some 30 buses in Fuenlabrada, after which it would have been extended to other modes of public transit that ran through the town. Although a full rollout of the card throughout Madrid was envisioned by 2007, by 2010 the only progress made was with launching in 2008 a contactless card for holders of the Abono Anual, CRTM's annual transport pass, whose passes covered the city of Madrid (zone A), and with another limited pilot program set for 2011.
