まゆの部屋

Kanto bus, train firms plan unified IC card
The Yomiuri Shimbun

An integrated circuit money card to be jointly issued by 53 bus and train operators in the Kanto region in fiscal 2006 is expected to incorporate features previously available only from a Suica electronic money card, sources said Thursday.

By charging the planned card with money, the holder would be able to use it for transportation services run by 53 bus and railway companies and shopping at stores that accept East Japan Railway Co.'s Super Urban Intelligent Card (Suica).

Thirteen million Suica cards have been issued, of which about 7.82 million have the electronic money feature. The IC card, which also offers a season fare version, can store up to 20,000 yen that can be used to pay fares or shopping bills if it has the electronic money feature. It can be used multiple times by recharging it.

Although the number of retailers that accept Suica cards remains limited compared with that of Edy electronic money, use of the provisionally named Passnet Bus IC Card may surge if private railways and buses become involved, turning it into the predominant electronic money.

Currently, private railways and Tokyo municipal subway lines offer a common magnetic prepaid card, Passnet, while bus companies have a different magnetic card called Bus Kyotsu Card. The 53 companies plan to integrate the two cards in fiscal 2006, and add the feature of electronic money to it so it can be used both for transportation fares and for shopping.

Once the system is established, the card would be accepted at all retailers that have terminals for charging Suica and Passnet Bus cards.

By teaming up with buses and Tokyo Metro, Tokyo municipal subway and private railways such as Keio Electric Railway Co. that serve a large number of passengers, the number of cards issued may exceed that of Edy. Edy cards, of which there are nearly 10.8 million, are issued by the largest electronic money operator Bitwallet Inc., which was set up by Sony Corp. and others.

Although Suica has been used mainly by JR East passengers, only about 1,000 stores located close to railway stations accept the card for shopping--far behind the 21,000 retailers that accept Edy. By adding Suica's feature on Passnet Bus, its coverage of the public transportation network would expand to almost the entire Tokyo metropolitan area.

(Jul. 29, 2005)