Yang Cheng Tong
Yang Cheng Tong (Chinese: 羊城通; pinyin: Yáng chéng tōng; lit. 'Ram City Pass') is a contactless rechargeable stored value smartcard designed for paying the travel fares in the metro, buses, taxis and ferries in Guangzhou, China, along with most other cities in Guangdong Province, with the exception of Shenzhen. It was developed and managed by Guangzhou Yang Cheng Tong Limited, bus companies in Guangzhou, and the Guangzhou Metro.
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Location | Guangzhou, Guangdong, China |
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Launched | 2001 |
Manager | Guangzhou Yang Cheng Tong Limited |
Currency | CNY |
Credit expiry | None |
Auto recharge | Automatic Add Value Service |
Website | http://www.igzyct.com/ |
The card is accepted by selected stores, parks, restaurants, parking meters, and in other establishments as payment. With the card holder's personal information stored in the Yang Cheng Tong, further functions can be applied, such as access control of buildings and roll call in school. The system was successfully launched on 30 December 2001. According to official statistics from its operator, there are over 5 million cards in circulation and 2.2 million transactions per day.[1]
Yang Cheng Tong literally means Ram City Pass, since the Five Rams (Chinese: 五羊; pinyin: wǔ yáng) statue is one of the important landmarks in Guangzhou.
Type of cards
- Yang Cheng Tong reader in taxi
- Yang Cheng Tong reader in buses, which also support payments through QR Code
There are different types of the Yang Cheng Tong card:
- Standard card: sold for deposit value of 20RMB. Deposit will be refunded when the card is returned. Also available with China T-union standard, which can be use nationwide.
- Commemorative card: available in Standard card sizes or different sizes. Deposit not included and refund of this type is prohibited.
- Xeno-card: used with wearable devices through NFC or SIM cards.
- Enterprise card
- Joint card: co-iusses with local banks.
- Tour Pass
- Yang Cheng Tong QR Code: payments through QR Codes by multiple parties.
Criticism
Compared to other contactless smartcards in use, the data transmission of Yang Cheng Tong is criticized by commuters that it takes 1~2 seconds between the card and reader to complete the transaction, though the operator claims that the data communication only takes 0.5 seconds in its official site.[2]
An issue with the Yang Cheng Tong card is, however, that the system seems to be very old in terms of IT systems. It was first used in the late nineties of the twentieth century. That is why the card does not support fare integration with other modes of transport, e.g. when a trip is made with multiple interchanges between bus and metro, passengers will have to pay at each point of transfer from one to another mode of transport.
References
- "About Yang Cheng Tong" (in Chinese). Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- Yang Cheng Tong website
External links
- (in Chinese) Yang Cheng Tong official website