On Tuesday, The Shanghai Transport Card Company announced that over 1,300 bus routes and 10 ferries around the city have now joined Metro trains in accepting payment via Alipay, reports Shine.
For anyone wanting to try the new service, first, they need to access the transport code by searching '上海公交' (Shanghai Transport) in Alipay. Once you receive your exclusive QR code, you can ride buses and ferries by swiping your phone, no longer needing small change for these modes of transport.
Image via Kankanews
And, the good news is that the IC card discount also applies to Alipay. Passengers who transfer to another bus within an hour will also receive RMB1 off their fare.
"I take buses to pick up my granddaughter every day," a commuter surnamed Wang told Kankanews. "I used to pay with my transport card, which brought me lots of trouble because I tend to forget to bring the card with me. Now the problem ceases to exist since all I need to bring is my smartphone."
Promising as the new Alipay function is, the service is currently only available to those who hold a Chinese ID card. Although, Alipay has alluded to fixing this issue in the future. In the meantime, those without the 18-digit ID card will need to pay via IC card or Apple Pay, which has been accepted on Shanghai subways and buses since earlier this year.
According to the reports of Kankanews, Shanghai now has more than 1.8 million commuters taking public transport with mobile payment every day. With the introduction of the new service, this figure is slated to increase as more convenience will be brought to more residents.
[Cover image via Pexels]
