Octopus card
The Octopus card system is the second contactless smart card system in the world, after the Korean Upass. The cards are used by 99 per cent of the population of Hong Kong aged 16 to 65. In 2015, first generation card holders may voluntarily replace their cards at an Octopus Service Point without charge. In 2017, the final generation cards will be unusable, and will emit a sound to remind cardholders to replace their card three times.
About Octopus card in brief
The Octopus card system is the second contactless smart card system in the world, after the Korean Upass. The cards are used by 99 per cent of the population of Hong Kong aged 16 to 65. The system handles more than 14 million transactions, worth over HK$180 million, on a daily basis. According to Octopus Cards Limited, operator of the Octopus system, there are more than 33 million cards in circulation. In 2015, first generation card holders may voluntarily replace their cards at an Octopus Service Point without charge. In 2017, the final generation cards will be unusable, and will emit a sound to remind cardholders to replace their card three times to remind them of the need to do so. The card is also commonly used for non-payment purposes, such as school attendance and access control for office buildings and housing estates. It has also grown to be used for payment in many retail shops in Hong Kong, including most convenience stores, supermarkets, and fast food restaurants. It is also used for parking meters, car parks, petrol stations, vending machines, fee payment at public libraries and swimming pools, and more. In 2003, the Hong Kong Government started to replace all its 18,000 parking meters with a new Octopus-operated system. The replacement was completed on 21 November 2004. On 29 June 2003, a new generation of First Generation On-Loan cards was launched. The First Generation cards have no no bracket number and can be used in any number of online or offline systems. They are reusable contactless stored value smart card for making electronic payments in online and offline systems in Hong Hong.
They can also be used to pay for parking in public parks, public libraries, and other non-transit-related functions such as parking meters. The first generation cards were launched by the company on 1 September 1997. They were used to collect fares for the territory’s mass transit system, and have since grown into a widely used payment system for all public transport inHong Kong. They have also led to the development of Navigo card in Paris, Oyster Card in London, Opal Card in New South Wales, NETS FlashPay and EZ-Link in Singapore and many other similar systems around the world. In November 1998, 4.6 million cards were issued, and this rose to 9 million by January 2002. By 2000, most bus journeys were completed using Octopus cards, with few coins used. The quick success of the system was driven by the fact that MTR and KCR required all holders of Common Stored Value Tickets to replace. their tickets withOctopus cards within three months or have their tickets made obsolete. In 1993, the MTR Corporation announced that it would move towards using contactlesssmartcards. In 1994, it partnered with four other major transit companies to operate theOctopus system in 1994, then known as Creative Star Limited. It was also extended to a limited number ofnon-transport applications, including payments at photobooths and for fast food vouchers. In 1989, the Common Stowed Value Ticket system was extended to Kowloon Motor Bus buses providing a feeder service to Citybus.
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This page is based on the article Octopus card published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 31, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
