Starting next year, a new single-journey ticket - made of plastic and resembling a one-yuan coin - will be used on the city's Metro lines, replacing the magnetic cards currently used on rail transportation (RT) No. 1 and RT No. 2, and the paper tickets on RT No. 3, the Shanghai Urban Trans-port Bureau said yesterday.
The new ticket, called token, is aimed at unifying the ticketing system in the city's rail transportation.
Metro tickets with a face value of 50 yuan (US$6) and 100 yuan will be discontinued along with the single-journey magnetic cards and paper tickets next year. However, the pre-paid public transportation cards used on subways, buses and taxis will be retained, the bureau revealed.
"The new ticket will be first used on RT No. 5, then expanded to other Metro lines after redesign work for ticket checking facilities on the three existing Metro lines is completed," said Wei Aimin of the rail transport office under the bureau.
RT No. 5, also known as Xinmin light rail which is still under construction, is scheduled to open in the first half of next year.
Like an IC card, small chips are embedded in the new tokens, hence passengers will only need to hold them near the check-in machines while entering a subway station and throw them into the check-out machines while departing.
Since the token doesn't have to touch the checking machine, it has some obvious advantages over the magnetic card, officials explained.
"Over the years, we have found that there's often something wrong with the magnetic cards since they undergo wear and tear after constantly being rubbed against the checking mac-hines every day," said Wei, adding "it takes a conside-rable sum of money and staff to maintain the facilities and renew the cards."
Hygiene condition of the magnetic cards also is a headache. The Shanghai Metro Operation Co. Ltd. had to upgrade the cards with an antibacterial powder which employs nanotech to "ensure commuters' health."
(eastday.com November 28, 2002)
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