March 21, 2012
Translated by Zhu Na
A report about a Beijinger who was declined a refund for her deposit on her public transport card has revived questions about how the operator of the municipal system stores the deposits accumulated from its 40 million users.
Wednesday’s edition of the Beijing News described how Liu Wei (刘巍) was unable to use her card, or yikatong, after accidently snapping it. When Liu consulted the bus station at Yamen kou (衙门口), she was told that she couldn’t get back the 20 yuan deposit that she paid to get the card in 2007, the year that the municipal government in Beijing launched the card scheme.
She also wanted staff at the bus station to provide a receipt acknowledging her earlier deposit of 20 yuan, but was told that it wasn’t company policy to give refunds or receipts for broken cards.
Beijing’s yikatong, like similar schemes in North American and European cities, allows users to top-up their balance and use up credit by swiping it across terminals at the beginning and end of their trips. Unlike some of the schemes elsewhere, Beijing’s cards can also be used in public phones, certain grocery shops and taxis.
After her experience, Liu lodged a public information request with the Beijing Municipal Administration & Communication Card Co., which operates the scheme, asking for details on the cost of making the cards and information of how the accumulated deposits are invested. She estimates that the company would be earning 28 million yuan a year if it kept the 40 million users’ deposits in a bank account.
“How is the interest being spent? It should be explained to the public,” Liu said.
In her letter to the card company, she asked how much interest has been generated each year since the scheme was introduced in 2007, how that interest was spent and how much it cost to make a card. She says that the company has 15 days to reply.
She also wrote a separate letter to the taxation bureau in Beijing’s Xicheng District reporting the company for failing to give a receipt recording its refusal to refund her deposit, which she said was illegal.
The Beijing News story also said that a member of the city’s political consultative congress, Shi Xiangyang (石向阳) has made six requests for information on the use of yikatong deposits but hasn’t received a satisfactory response.
The report added that it’s hard to return the cards – the service is only available at 59 of the 619 card issue points – and it’s particularly difficult to get a refund on unused balances of more than 100 yuan.
Links and sources
The Beijing News: “一卡通”巨额押金利息哪去了？
Global Times Resident appeals for transit info
The Economic Observer Company Responds to Yikatong Privacy Concerns
CCTV Beijing to gradually cancel deposit for public transportation card
