Regional Marketing, a local marketing company of the local drugstore chain Satsudora in Hokkaido, has started demonstrating WeChat Pay for about 120 local buses around Noboribetu Onsen area and Toyako area, popular destinations for Chinese travelers, in cooperation with Muroran City-based Donan Bus and Hokkaido Transportation Bureau.
QR for purchase of bus tickets is displayed at a bus stop or in a bus. A passenger scans the QR on a WeChat Pay app to buy a ticket, possibly for a number of passengers, and show a payment completion screen to a bus driver when getting off a bus.
It is the first demonstration of WeChat Pay for local bus in Japan and also the first cashless payment demonstration by a local Transportation Bureau in Japan.
Referring to the demonstration results, Regional Marketing plans to extend the service to other public transportation services, such as railway, ferry or taxi, in the future. Hokkaido Transportation Bureau expects that the service will improve passenger convenience and reduce driver workloads.
