With public transportation systems such as subways springing up across China and becoming a part of Chinese citizens’ daily life, municipal governments are making efforts to streamline the ride experience by leveraging some of the country’s advanced technologies.
From now on, commuters in Jinan city, capital of China’s eastern Shandong Province, can take the city’s subway by just taking a quick look at a face scanning tool beside the passage, KrASIA learned Monday.
To do so, the passengers need to use a dedicated Jinan Metro App, which uses technologies similar to Apple iPhone’s FaceID, to have their facial features recognized and stored, and have a bank, WeChat Pay, or Alipay account linked for payment processing. Then it’s all set.
Aided by the new technology, a total of 30 to 40 passengers could pass through the faregate in just one minute, according to a 21st Century Business Herald report, citing an unnamed official with the operator of the city’s Subway Line 1, which has just opened to the public this month with a fare between 2 yuan (USD 0.3) and 6 yuan.
Shenzhen’s subway operator has also been conducting similar tests, the South China Morning Post reported in March.
Contact the writer at jingli@kr-asia.com
