PASPY

PASPY (パスピー, Pasupī) is a rechargeable contactless smart card ticketing system for public transit in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.[1] Its name is a portmanteau of pass, happy, and speedy.[2] Like other electronic fare collection systems in Japan, the card uses an RFID technology developed by Sony known as FeliCa, but was the first to employ an 8 KB capacity instead of the standard 4, owing to the need for more capacity to interoperate with the Hiroshima bus system.[3]

PASPY cards.

Uniquely, while the PASPY system accepts numerous IC cards from across Japan, PASPY cards cannot be used on in other areas.

History

The system was conceived as an alternative to the magnetic fare system in place since 1994, which by 2008 was already beginning to show signs of wear; machines were needing to be replaced and customers preferred IC cards over magnetic fare cards.[4] The PASPY card launched with eight issuing companies, each with their own uniquely colored card, on January 26, 2008.[5]

On March 1, the PASPY system also began accepting JR West's ICOCA card, but without allowing PASPY to be used at ICOCA terminals. This was seen as an expedient way to avoid having to obtain agreement from the entire ICOCA service area to have local campaigns and promotional discounts to entice Hiroshima residents to use the PASPY card, while still allowing for travelers from outside the area to use the more widely accepted ICOCA card and visit Hiroshima without having to purchase a PASPY.[6]

Operators accepting PASPY

Those with a color in the "Card color" column issue the cards, while others just accept them.

Card color	Operator	Mode of transport
Light green	Hiroshima Electric Railway (Hiroden)	Railway (tram), bus
Yellow	Hiroshima Rapid Transit (Astram Line)	Railway (people mover)
	Hiroshima Tourism Promoting (Miyajima Ropeway)	Railway (aerial tramway)
Pink	Hiroshima Bus	Bus
Orange	Hiroshima Kōtsū (Hirokō Bus)
Dark blue	Geiyō Bus
Blue	Chūgoku JR Bus
Light blue	Bihoku Kōtsū
Green	Tomotetsudō (Tomotetsu Bus)
Purple	Kure City Transportation Bureau
	HD Nishi-Hiroshima (Bon-Bus)
	Daiichi Taxi
	Hirokō Kankō
	Chūgoku Bus
	Setonaikai Kisen	Ship (ferry, and cruise ship)
	Miyajima Matsudai Kisen	Ship (ferry)

[7]

References

1. #Karii, Introduction
2. PASPYについて, from the PASPY official site
3. #Karii, 8-KB FeliCa Card for Bus Commuter Pass.
4. #Karii, Background to PASPY Introduction
5. #Karii, Background to PASPY Introduction
6. #Karii, Introduction
7. PASPYご利用エリア, from the PASPY official site. Note that the list shown here in this article is not exhaustive, and does not list every company that accepts PASPY.

External links

• (in Japanese) Official website

Bibliography

Yasuhiro Karii. "Deploying Transport IC Card in Hiroshima Urban Area". Japan Railway & Transport Review (50): 28–31. Archived from the original on 2015-06-16. Retrieved 2015-06-16.

"PASPYについて". Hiroshima Bus Association. Archived from the original on 2015-03-22. Retrieved 2015-06-16.

"PASPYご利用エリア". Hiroshima Bus Association. Archived from the original on 2015-02-20. Retrieved 2015-06-16.