The new swipe card system

There was a bit of confusion during yesterday's peak hour as Beijing's white-collar crowd struggled to adjust to the long-awaited introduction of the new swipe card system on Beijing's subway. For most regular subway users little has changed, they are now simply required to swipe their cards at the end of their trip in addition to when entering the station – with the added complication of making sure that they exit through a gate with a green check-mark (tick) rather than a red cross above it. Still, when we passed through Dawang Lu station at 9am yesterday morning, this simple task seemed to be proving a little troublesome for some of the city's CBD workers. However, according to other colleagues, the system seemed to be working fine at other stations, there were no queues and everything functioned very smoothly.

To add to the confusion and to the frustration of many travelers arriving back from their holidays, the Beijing Railway Station subway stop was also closed yesterday for "safety reasons". It was reported that due to certain reasons, the C and D exits could not be used and that the remaining A and B exits were to small to safely handle the passenger volume. There is no word on when the station will open again. In another sign that the system might not be working so well, the train that we took to work this morning passed by Yonganli and Guomao stations without stopping. Although there was an announcement in Chinese, no explanation was given as to why the train did not stop at these two stops. It might be best to avoid peak hour for the next few days as people get acquainted with the new system.

The new system offers a bit more of a challenge for those who don't possess a yi katong card as they are required to purchase single journey tickets at either the regular ticketing windows or from ticket machines, they can then swipe these electronic tickets (see picture left) to access the platform of that station any time that day. The electronic ticket will then be "eaten" by the machine when they leave the platform at their destination.

Here are a few tips to help you navigate the new system:

· Swipe with your right hand. In yet another institutional barrier to lefties, the new system requires passengers to enter the gate on the left of where they swipe their card

· Prepare some 1 kuai coins. If you’re using one of the automated ticket machines it’s a good idea to prepare some coins as although some of the machines accept notes, some only accept 50 and 100 kuai notes and it’s likely your change will be given in 1 kuai coins. During the next few weeks most major stations will have staff on hand to switch notes for change

· If you're carrying luggage or have a pram look for one of the extra wide gates.

· You can't swipe a friend in. Unlike the previous system, you can’t offer your friends a free ride if they happen to have forgotten their card.

· Don't buy return tickets. In order to avoid queing twice many people have got into the habit of buying two paper tickets at the same time and using the second as their return ticket. Under the new system, the single journey ticket is only valid from the station where you purchased it and is only for use on the day of purchase.

· Make sure you actually swipe when you leave the station. If you fail to swipe your card as you leave the station (managing to slip through the gates in the shadow of the person in front of you), you'll discover that next time you try to enter any station you won't be able to swipe in and you'll be forced to queue at the counter to demagnetize your card.

Given that back in April the People's Daily reported that the new system would be introduced across Beijing's subway system on May 17 and the Transport Workers News assured us that we wouldn’t making our way though the spiffy new gates until June, it might be a good idea to keep your eyes on the Transport Workers News for updates on when we can expect the three new subway lines (Line 10, the Olympic Line and the Airport Line) to open.

Links and Sources
The Beijinger Forum: new subway payment system fully launched!
The Beijing News: 地铁自助购票最好用硬币
The Beijing News: 自动检票首日 地铁迎客百万
The Beijinger: New subway electronic ticketing system to be introduced on May 17
The Beijinger: New subway gates to start operation in May (maybe)
Xinhua: image
China.con.cn: Image of Single Journey Ticket
Youku: 【拍客】实拍北京地铁自动售检系统试运营
Sohu: 地铁北京站今日起封站 2号线列车通过不停(图)
hinews: image
The Beijing News: 地铁纸票拟5月17日退役
People's Daily: Beijing Subway to bid farewell to paper tickets
China Business International: Goodbye, Yuepiao!
China Economic Net: China to stop circulation of 2nd-version RMB cent paper money
The Railway Worker: 北京：地铁自动售检票系统6月启用乘客一卡通行