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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]

While the PASPY system accepts numerous IC cards from across Japan, PASPY cards cannot be used on in other areas. PASPY IC card service will end in March 2025 and be replaced with ICOCA.^[4]

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.^[5] The PASPY card launched with eight issuing companies, each with their own uniquely colored card, on January 26, 2008.^[6]

On March 1, 2008^{[citation needed]}, the PASPY system also began accepting JR West's ICOCA card (without allowing reciprocal use of PASPY 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.^[7]

Subsequently on March 17, 2018, Nationwide Mutual Usage IC cards became accepted for usage the PASPY area.^[8]

The Kure City Transportation Bureau version of PASPY ceased to be sold on April 1, 2012. The Bihoku Kōtsū version ceased sales on September 30, 2014, while Geiyō Bus suspended sales the following day. Hiroshima Rapid Transit ceased sales of PASPY on May 31, 2024, and will stop accepting usage of the cards on the Astram Line on November 30, 2024.^[9] As a result, there are now only six color varieties of new PASPY cards sold.^[10]

Operators accepting PASPY

Those with a color in the "Card color" column issue their own version of the cards, while others just accept them.^[11] Those with a strikethrough indicate the company has ended sales of their own cards, and thus that color of card is now unavailable.

Card color	Operator	Sales period	Mode of transport
Light green	Hiroshima Electric Railway (Hiroden)	Present	Railway (tram), bus
~~Yellow~~	Hiroshima Rapid Transit (Astram Line)	Ended May 2024^[9]	Railway (people mover)
	Hiroshima Tourism Promoting (Miyajima Ropeway)		Railway (aerial tramway)
Pink	Hiroshima Bus	Present	Bus
Orange	Hiroshima Kōtsū (Hirokō Bus)	Present
~~Dark blue~~	Geiyō Bus	Ended October 2014
Blue	Chūgoku JR Bus	Present
~~Light blue~~	Bihoku Kōtsū	Ended September 2014
Green	Tomotetsudou (Tomotetsu Bus)	Present
~~Purple~~	Kure City Transportation Bureau	Ended March 2012
	HD Nishi-Hiroshima (Bon-Bus)
	Daiichi Taxi
	Hirokō Kankō
Dark Green	Chūgoku Bus	Present
	Setonaikai Kisen		Ship (ferry and cruise ship)
	Miyajima Matsudai Kisen		Ship (ferry)

References

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.

References

^ #Karii, Introduction
^ PASPYについて, from the PASPY official site
^ #Karii, 8-KB FeliCa Card for Bus Commuter Pass.
^ "交通系ICカードPASPYのサービス終了について". PASPY (in Japanese). 2022-03-04. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
^ #Karii, Background to PASPY Introduction
^ #Karii, Background to PASPY Introduction
^ #Karii, Introduction
^ "ＰＡＳＰＹエリアにおける全国相互利用ＩＣカードのサービス開始について". Paspy. Hiroshima Bus Association. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
^ ^a ^b "アストラムラインのPASPYサービス終了について | お知らせ | アストラムライン". 広島高速交通株式会社. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
^ "PASPYの種類". PASPY. Hiroshima Bus Association. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
^ 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.