CLUJ-NAPOCA, Romania — Forget digging for change or tapping your card. In this innovative Romanian city, all it takes to score a free ride on the bus is dropping it like it’s hot, 20 proper squats in under two minutes.
Welcome to “Biletul de Sănătate” — the “Health Ticket” — a cheeky public wellness campaign that’s turning bus stops into pop-up gyms and racking up millions of squats across the city.
A slick teal kiosk planted at the busy Memorandumului Sud transit hub watches your every move with a camera and motion sensors. Step onto the marked spot, bust out 20 deep squats with decent form, and, bingo, it spits out a single-ride ticket worth about 2.5 Romanian lei (roughly 55 cents). No cash, no app, just sweat equity.
Viral footage circulating on X shows a fit blonde in a white crop top and beige pants cranking out rep after rep right in front of the machine, hands clasped near her chest, while a guy in a white T-shirt stands by watching and a woman checks her phone in the background shelter. The machine’s screen tracks her progress as she powers through.
Launched in partnership with the Sports Festival and Cluj-Napoca City Hall around 2020, the program has been revived multiple times to fight sedentary lifestyles and boost public transit use. Mayor Emil Boc boasted that thousands of locals of all ages jumped in, with the first month alone logging over 270,000 squats and 13,500 free tickets. Citywide, participants have racked up more than two million squats.
Elderly riders and people with disabilities ride free without the squat challenge, keeping things inclusive. Later phases even added stationary bikes for a 500-meter spin in three minutes.
