The three million people who ride Beijing's subway every day entered a new era on June 9, as the sale of paper tickets stopped and all riders began using contactless cards:
With the introduction of the new Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) system, passengers can now buy the new tickets from vending machines at the entrance to each platform.
People with Yikatong prepaid cards that can be used on buses and the subway network, can continue to use them.
Before yesterday, most passengers bought paper tickets which were checked manually.
Actually, the majority of subway riders had already purchased a contactless Yikatong card before June 9, but many less frequent riders and tourists were still buying paper tickets. Many of them were confused at the new system, and some had tried using their identification cards or even business cards, according to one subway worker I talked to. The city put out an extra six thousand employees to help explain the new system to passengers.
Even some regular commuters who had been using their Yikatong cards for years in Beijing's subway and bus system were baffled by the top-up machines and the need to swipe one's card when leaving the station. As the week progressed, though, the chaos declined significantly, and the top-up machines have eliminated most of the previously long ticket lines.
As we have mentioned before, the Yikatong card also can be used for micropayments at a few stores in Beijing. But progress here has been slower; currently the authority behind the "Beijing SuperPass" lists just 762 locations in Beijing that accept Yikatong payments, most of them concentrated in a few supermarket, convenient store, hair salon, and movie theatre chains.
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