Re:Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo
by munmaek on Thursday June 20, 2019 @01:17PM
(#20235000)
Suica was awesome in tokyo, but I wasn't able to use it in Osaka unfortunately. Other than that, I love it. I had the card originally but I switched to just using my phone.
Re:Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo
by wflann on Thursday June 20, 2019 @02:05PM
(#20235502)
How long ago was this? In the past couple of years, I believe the backend systems have been integrated so you can use Tokyo-specific cards in Osaka and vice versa
Re:Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo
by munmaek on Thursday June 20, 2019 @04:10PM
(#20236832)
This March. I wasn't able to use Suica for the Osaka busses.
Re:Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo
by 9nGQluzmnq3M on Thursday June 20, 2019 @06:41PM
(#20238119)
Were you using some minor bus company? To a first approximation, all Japanese IC cards are compatible these days.
Re:Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo
by munmaek on Thursday June 20, 2019 @11:24PM
(#20239638)
Actually on second thought, this happened in Fukuoka, not Osaka. In Osaka I was able to take the metro with Suica.
I ended up carrying around cash and change anyway since a lot of places in Tokyo were still cash only.
Re:Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo
by fiblye on Thursday June 20, 2019 @08:09PM
(#20238734)
I’ve used suica from Hokkaido to Kyuushuu. Some local bus lines don’t accept it, including the one in my city, but they seem to be gradually adding suica compatibility everywhere. It’ll probably be universal in a few more years (tech adoption is incredibly slow in Japan)
Privacy: If you care about privacy, Suica is relatively anonymous, unless you (optionally) register it. It's probably possible to link a card to someone retrospectively with CCTV, but your transaction history is not being broadcast in real-time to your bank.
Acceptance: It's also increasingly widely accepted: public transport (the Tokyo metro system is amazing and gets you just about anywhere efficiently); taxis; the pervasive convenience stores + some supermarkets; more and more retail stores. Edit: as another poster pointed out, a huge % of transactions in Japan are made in cash and it's quite common for stores to not accept credit cards, yet some of these do accept Suica.
Discounts: You might get discounts on train fares if you use Suica, too.
No battery required: The SUICA works 24/7, 365, with no need to charge it. Unless I'm mistaken, smartphones require at least reserve battery for NFC payments to work.