Cellphone payments making bus rides more friendly

China's largest third-party mobile payment services, Alipay and WeChat Pay, are to be fully accepted before the end of March on public buses in Zhuhai.

QR codes generated by the e-wallets on the mobile apps will be scanned for payment by then, according to Zhuhai Public Transport Group. Upgraded ticketing machines will process the fares on recognition of the codes and then deduct the funds accordingly.

The successful rollout began on Dec 29 and has already popularized passenger-friendly reform. It also made Zhuhai the first Chinese city to bring both "smart pay" methods to public buses.  

QR code scanning payment on buses [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Daily]

The intelligent solutions fit Zhuhai's ambitions to become a Smart City. According to Xu Chaolong, the group's chairman of the board, the upgrading will be in sync with the additions of new electric buses and replacement of all other conventional ones, which is another step toward a "smarter" and greener society. 

With municipal Party committee and government support, 400 electric buses will be added to routes that are now under pressure. This will bring the total number of buses to 2,498. At the same time, more than 10 lines will come into operation to supplement the current 177 lines. This will better balance the public transit system between the East and West wings of the city.

Statistics have shown that 322 million passengers received improved bus services last year in Zhuhai. Over the past few years, bus drivers have been renowned to yield to pedestrians at crosswalks and return lost money, making them even more friendly. Zhuhai's public buses are truly becoming another one of the city's drawing cards, contended Xu.