16 major cities in China’s southeast coast have made plans to implement smart card fare payment systems by 2010. Convenient transportation is a key factor in the development of this increasingly prosperous economic region. So far, more than 3,300 cabs have been equipped with electronic card readers. Readers are standardized so the same smart card can be used to pay fares for different cab services in different cities.

In Hangzhou, the cab administration has ordered all 7,500 of its cabs to include the electronic card readers, which will be compatible with the readers already mounted in Shanghai cabs, as well as those in Nanjing.
Residents throughout the 16 cities included in the smart card plan frequently travel across the region either for business or weekend getaways. With the new fare payment program, they’ll be able to use a single smart card for any cab service. Along with the cab fare program, China’s east coast has also used smart cards in electronic payment systems for express railways and fast-pass highway facilities.