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New cards pay bills, fares and keep time ( 2003-11-13 15:41) (Shanghai Daily)
Shanghai is working on a new prepaid transportation card that would make James Bond jealous. The cards, which commuters use to pay bus, subway and cab fees in the city, could soon be integrated with wristwatches allowing passengers to zip through Metro station turnstiles by simply placing their wrists on the card reader. The debt card/time pieces could go into use in the city by the end of this year, according to Shanghai Public Transportation Card Co Ltd, the sole issuer of the integrated circuit cards. The company says its technicians have already developed the necessary technology and are currently testing the gadgets. By wearing the watch, which is embedded with microchips, passengers will find it much easier to pass through information-reading machines, particularly when they are in a hurry during peak hours, said company officials. "We'll launch a few models at the very beginning," said an official with the company. "Gradually, we expect to develop more models to meet different market demands. Youngsters will prefer fashionable, yet inexpensive products, while office workers may choose more sophisticated models." The company won't discuss the price range for the watches before they hit the market. Zhou Yang, a 25-year-old, white-collar worker who travels across the city by bus and subway every day, said she's already longing for the new type of cards. "It'll be cool for me to just place my wrist in front of the card-reading machines on buses," said Zhou. "Now I have to take my card out from my bag, which is quite troublesome, especially when the buses are crowded, as I have to protect my bag from pickpockets." The Shanghai government launched the prepaid public transportation cards in 1999, hoping that every local citizen would hold three cards, one for banking, another for transportation and a social security card. To date, the city has sold 9 million of the integrated cards that can be used on all city buses, subways and light rail lines as well as taxis in Shanghai and neighboring cities. Drivers can also use them to pay tolls and residents of some neighborhoods can use them to pay their gas and phone bills. When the watches run out of credit, users will be able to deposit more money
into them just like they can with the current cards - the one major difference
being that the timepieces will let you know just how late you are for work when
you get caught in traffic.
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