Introduction and Future Development of Suica Non-Contact IC Card Ticketing System Akio Shiibashi

Feature New Frontiers in Passenger Rail

Introduction and Future Development of Suica Non-contact IC Card Ticketing System Akio Shiibashi

new company started examining Suica, as well as well as some future plans Introduction development and testing of non-contact for the system. IC cards to provide user-oriented services East Japan Railway Company (JR East) is meeting future passenger needs. As part Outline of Automatic one of the six passenger railway of its medium-term business strategy, JR Ticketing System companies created at the privatization and East launched the New Frontier 21 plan division of the former Japanese National in which the company announced its Figure 1 shows the station ticketing Railways (JNR) in 1987 and it is the largest intent to actively introduce new system used by JR East. Basically, it is company in the JR Group. Its service area technologies, starting with information composed of a network of vending covers the eastern half of the main technology (IT). As a result, each of the machines and gates plus a back-office for Japanese island of Honshu and includes companies comprising the JR East group managing collected fares and performing Tokyo. The company carries some 16 started examining active introduction of remote monitoring. The vending million passengers each day over a route IT to its business. As one concrete machines are composed of ticket vending length of about 7500 km. example, JR East greeted the 21st century machines, card vending machines and JR East aims to provide its customers with by launching its leading-edge Super season ticket vending machines. There safe and reliable transport services based Urban Intelligent Card (Suica) non- are also fare adjustment machines near on its main business as a trustworthy contact IC card ticketing system on 18 the gates. In general, all the machines railway company. November 2001. This article describes are passenger operated. As one part of this concept, in 1987, the the development and deployment of After 1990, to eliminate the workload of manual ticket clippers at gates, JR East introduced a magnetic ticket and gate Figure 1 Automatic Fare Collection System system centred on lines in Tokyo Metropolitan Area. The system is now Fare adjusting machines (854) complete at some 340 stations with 3200 Data processing machines gates covering a radius of about 100 km Fare adjusting window around Tokyo. The 5 million or so commuters who use magnetic commuter passes to travel in the metropolitan area have become thoroughly familiar with this automated system in the 10 years since its introduction. Following the introduction of this Ticket vending machines magnetic ticketing system, new services (4551) such as stored fare (SF) cards were Automatic fare collection gate Card vending machines introduced from 1991. In this system, (3286 gates) (ordinal line) fares are debited from a prepaid magnetic SF card (called an IO Card by JR East). The customer inserts a prepaid card into Mars (1541) the gate on starting the journey and the fare is calculated and deducted automatically from the card when the card is inserted into the exit gate on completing the journey. This eliminates the inconvenience of buying tickets one at a time as well as problems with fare adjustments when travelling beyond the original fare destination for some reason. Cash counting machines As a consequence, the IO Card rapidly became very popular with passengers

20 Japan Railway & Transport Review 32 • September 2002 Copyright © 2002 EJRCF. All rights reserved. Figure 2 Non-contact IC Card System and annual sales currently stand at more Transaction Time Analysis than 20 million cards for a revenue of Conveyed automatically while walking about ¥60 billion (US$1 = ¥125). As the magnetic ticketing system developed in popularity, JR East started read judge write verify Process time examining development of a next- Magnetic 0.7 s generation ticketing system using non- Carriage 1,150 mm contact IC cards that could offer advantages of expanded functionality, lowered costs, and greater protection against ticket fraud. Hold in hand read R&D into IC card ticketing systems had judge already been started when JR East was detect verify established in 1987. authenticate Process time

IC Card 0.1 s

Development Concept of Communication area (IC Card & R/W) Non-contact IC Card 100 mm Ticketing System

Examination of the concept of introduction of non-contact IC cards as Figure 2 shows the differences in Development of Non-contact passenger tickets soon showed that it transaction time between magnetic IC Cards would be practically impossible to ticket and non-contact IC card gate substitute such cards for the current systems. In the magnetic system, as JR East started focusing attention on the magnetic tickets in a single step. As a soon as the ticket is put in the gate, possibility of using non-contact IC cards consequence, it was realized that use of the ticket data is read, evaluated, for next-generation ticketing systems the current magnetic tickets would have written and verified in a series of four immediately after the company was to continue in parallel with development serial processes taking about 0.7 s. established in 1987. IC cards can be of the IC card system until the best By contrast, in the non-contact IC classified into contact and non-contact specifications for the system could be card system, first, the presence of the types, but when using IC cards for determined. card in the radio-wave field is tickets, the transaction must be Comparison with the current magnetic detected and the card is performed as the customer walks ticket system led to the establishment of authenticated. Then the data is read, through the gate, so the non-contact the following development concepts as evaluated, written and verified in type of IC card should be best. prerequisites for introducing a non- quick succession. In a feasibility First, JR East tested single non-contact IC contact IC card ticketing system. study, the company soon found that cards using medium-wave and quasi- • The new system must co-exist with these processes must be completed microwave frequencies to examine the current magnetic ticket system within about 0.1 s to prevent possible commercial applications. • The new system must be less passengers pausing momentarily in As a result, in 1992, it seemed that quasi- expensive than the current magnetic their progress through the gate. microwave non-contact IC cards with a ticket system Achieving this speed between the built-in battery looked like the best • The new system must have at least non-contact IC and gate reader/writer possible solution in terms of providing the same or better processing (R/W) was difficult using the available nearly satisfactory processing speed and performance and reliability as the technology at that time, and the most price. Three field trials (Table 1) were current magnetic ticket system important point was developing high- conducted in railway stations from 1994 • The new system must be able to offer speed transaction processing between onwards to evaluate whether the new added-value services the IC card and R/W. functionality reached the required levels. The development details are described Specifically, the trials examined whether below. the system reliability, gate processing

Table 1 Results of Field Test in JR East

1st Trial 2nd Trial 3rd Trial Third Field Trial 14 Feb 1994–15 Mar 1994 3 Apr 1995–2 Oct 1995 21 Apr 1997–25 Nov 1997 Test period (1 month) (6 months) (7 months) Outline 8 stations 13 stations 12 stations Test scale 18 gates 30 gates 32 gate For the third field trial of about 7 400 persons 700 persons 800 persons months between April and November Communication speed 70 Kbps 25 Kbps 250 Kbps 1997, two points were improved based Card movement Waving Waving Touch & Go on the results of the second trial. To Number of total 29,900 176,000 174,000 transactions reduce randomness in the positioning of the card, the position of the R/W Error rate compared with More than 20 times About 4 times Nearly equal magnetic card antenna field was clearly marked and the method was changed from simply bringing the card close to the R/W to performance, and card usability satisfied using a so-called ‘Touch and Go’ passengers’ needs. Second Field Trial method (Fig. 3). In addition, instead of using cards with internal batteries, Outline power was supplied to the card from First Field Trial The second field trial was held for 6 the R/W by radio-wave induction. months between April and October 1995 Furthermore, a new SF card function Outline to examine the remedies for the problems (called IO card) was added to the The first field trial was held for 1 month exposed by the first trial. There were three commuter pass function. in January and February 1994. To main improvements: communications at determine the user convenience, two shorter wavelengths, change in shape of Results and problems types of R/W were used: a horizontal radio-wave field to hemispherical, and The most serious pending problem of the type and a vertical type. faster communications speed. high error rate was immediately Additionally only the horizontal-type R/W improved to the same level as the Results and problems was tested based on the results of the conventional magnetic ticket system due The trial results showed that the previous field trial. to the high effectiveness of the Touch and processing performance between the Go method. non-contact IC card and the R/W was Results and problems Ignoring a few initial teething problems, unsatisfactory and the error rate The error rate improved to just four times the batteryless cards worked faultlessly preventing passage through the gate that of the magnetic ticket system. This through the trial period. In addition, was 20 times the error rate of the was due to randomness in the positioning the newly added SF card function also conventional magnetic tickets. The of the card over the R/W because the causes were twofold; the rugby-ball monitors could not see the area of the shape of the communications field radio-wave field. Figure 3 Major Improvements of Third Field Trial hindered speedy completion of In addition, after about 3 months of processing when the IC card was near trials, the internal batteries in the cards the R/W; and absorption of quasi- began failing and the cards became 'Touch and Go' to the R/W microwaves by the water content of the inoperable. It was soon realized that Communication area of passenger’s bodies reduced the size of use of even a long-life internal battery Non-contact IC From Close the communications field. was impractical. to Touch Moreover, although 90% of monitors said In terms of transaction speed, the trial it was convenient not to have to remove confirmed that the number of people Go Communication the season ticket from a wallet to pass it passing through the gate slightly exceeded area through the gate, close to 50% said the the conventional magnetic ticket system transaction speed was too slow. because the communications speed had Touch Additionally, the horizontal type R/W was been increased. found to be easiest to use.

22 Japan Railway & Transport Review 32 • September 2002 Copyright © 2002 EJRCF. All rights reserved. produced good results with no major • Communications range: 100 mm Business Model and problems. radius min. Introduction Concept

Prerequisites for Railway I would like to explain the importance of An important subject in introducing the Non-contact IC Cards communications speed in some more IC card ticketing system was ensuring that detail. Some people believe that if the it would be a cost-effective investment. Up to this point, the R&D and field trials total transaction time can be kept below Even if it used the latest leading-edge had clarified the prerequisites for a non- 0.1 s, the communications speed does technology, JR East could not introduce it contact IC card for railway ticket not matter. However, this is a mistake. unless there were demonstrable applications. The prerequisites are In the Suica system, the processing is investment merits. As a consequence, the explained further below. completed when the R/W side receives business model for introducing the system To use a non-contact IC card as a railway the data items processed by the card side. was investigated as described below. ticketing system, the system must have a This final communications cannot be high communications and transaction completed if the card has moved outside Testing business model speed plus reliable data processing. the field in which communications are Since automatic gates for handling These advantages help compensate for possible and this in turn depends on how conventional magnetic passenger and the disadvantages of non-contact IC the passenger handles the positioning of season tickets had already been installed cards; in contrast to the convenience of the non-contact IC card. In this case, the in stations for a radius of about 100 km non-contact cards, their transaction data at the card side is updated but the around Tokyo, simply changing the efficiency relies upon how a passenger data at the R/W side is not updated, medium of passenger tickets from positions the card over the R/W; a major resulting in a serious data mismatch magnetic cards to IC cards seemed disadvantage is that the card processing problem. High-speed communications unlikely to be an efficient investment. may not be completed properly greatly reduces the incidence of However (and luckily), more than 10 years depending on how the passenger incomplete data processing and high- had passed since the introduction of the positions the card. Reducing the speed communications is an important magnetic ticketing system and the time occurrence of incomplete data precondition for actively reducing the had come to renew the original aging processing requires high-reliability data occurrence of the problem. gates. Consequently, some financial processing at high communications calculations were made on the feasibility speeds. Introduction of Non-contact of introducing the new IC card system at Achieving high-speed high-reliability IC Card System the same time as the gate renewal. The processing is an absolute prerequisite for total capital investment required for the suppressing gate error rates to levels that As a result of the three above-described IC card ticketing system was calculated at are lower than seen in conventional field trials, JR East decided that it would ¥46 billion broken down into ¥33 billion magnetic ticket systems. If this be possible to achieve successful for renewing the aging equipment and ¥13 requirement cannot be satisfied, the commercial introduction of a non-contact billion for costs related to the IC card smooth passage of people through IC card ticketing system and started system. The ¥33 billion for equipment stations would be hindered, causing great investigating a plan for introduction from renewal was the cost required to renew confusion, possible accidents, and even 1998. The so-called Committee for the magnetic ticketing system even problems with delayed train departures. Promoting Introduction of the IC Card without introducing the IC card system. As a result, JR East undertook extensive Ticketing System was formed with JR East Furthermore, when a detailed financial R&D over many years as well as Vice President Kiyomi Harayama as analysis was made, it was found that the extensive field trials before settling on the Committee Chairman; related companies effect of introducing the IC card system following three concrete technical in the JR East group also put systems and would be to greatly reduce maintenance specifications for a practical and people in place to tackle the various and capital costs through the reduced internationally competitive commercial problems that would arise before the count of wearing parts in gates. This system using non-contact IC cards. introduction. In total, there were more reduction over a 10-year period was • Transaction speed: 0.1 s min. than 200 people working on the estimated at ¥13 billion, cancelling out • Communications speed: 212 Kbps introduction. the cost of the initial investment related min. to introducing the IC cards.

Furthermore, introduction of the non- Suica features A unique user ID is stored in the contact IC cards would increase the The unique features of Suica are listed Suica so that the central Suica server levels of both customer service and below: can manage the card usage history. security and was also forecast to lead to • Charging function (adding money) As a consequence, if the Suica is development of new business Each time any fare stored in the lost or stolen, a new card can be opportunities. Suica becomes exhausted by usage, issued after confirming the identity As a result of these analyses, it was decided the stored fare can be topped up of the owner and the lost or stolen to greet the 21st century in 2001 by again using the so-called charging card can be disabled, preventing introducing a new next-generation ticketing function rather like recharging a further illegal use. system using non-contact IC cards. rechargeable battery. The charging is actually done by the passenger at Introduction concept ticket vending machines, Suica card Suica Monitoring Trials The following concepts for introducing vending machines and at fare the new system were developed on the adjustment machines simply by There were no major problems with card basis of the above-described analyses. inserting the card and putting errors during the test period. The • Changed systems money into the machine. functioning of the cards, gates, and Reduce station administration • Rewrite function machines as well as the opinions of through changeover to cashless and The Suica commuter pass has a station staff handling the system and ticketless passenger transport. rewritable surface to rewrite the customer opinions were all monitored to • Reduced costs information (validity dates and stations, obtain a precise impression of how well Reduce station equipment levels by etc.) printed on the card surface. In the system was working. In the first full- cutting the numbers of machines and other words, when the validity of a scale test of commercial use from 8 April mechanical parts. purchased card expires or when the to 8 July 2000, the initial intent was to • Improved service commuting route changes, the card can issue 10,000 monitors with 8500 Suica Reduce ticket problems, promote be reused with up-to-date information commuter passes and 1500 Suica IO through ticketing and expand station reprinted on its surface. cards for use in a general function trial at usage opportunities. • ID Function permitting reissue after the 27 stations between Ebisu and • Improved security loss or theft Kawagoe stations on JR East’s Saikyo Line. Eliminate ticket fraud and forged and altered tickets • New business opportunities Figure 4 Functions of Two IC Cards Develop new business using features of IC cards (large data capacity and high security) JR East Suica IC Card (Super Urban Intelligent CArd) IC Card Name, Types and Features

The Suica name given to the card is the abbreviation for Super Urban Intelligent Commuter Pass SF (IO) Card Card but it also conveys the impression • Commuter pass + SF • Rechargeable of smooth and easy transport based on • Reusable with rewriting • Rechargeable the Japanese adverb suisui (lightly). The Suica that combines the season ticket function with the SF card function is called the Suica Commuter Pass while the Suica that only has the SF card function is called the Suica IO Card (Fig. 4).

Stations with Gates Income Management Data collection Income management Network Conditions for participating in Preventing braud managing SF test cards. Re-issueing commuter passes Although more than 30,000 people Automatic fare collection gates applied to be one of the 10,000 test ID Management With IC and mangnetic monitors, only 8600 were eventually chosen (7200 Suica commuter passes and Portable reader ID Management Fare Adjustment Network 1400 Suica IO cards). The cards were With Man ID Data used some 174,000 times during the test Income Data period (excluding use between With Simple Type Suica Vending Machines Add Value Machines commuting stations). The SF function of the Suica commuter pass was used mostly Simple Commuter IO (SF) Fare Add value Mars* Tickets automatic fare at weekends while there was no daily Passes Cards Adjustmets machine difference in the use of the Suica IO colection gate *For vending seat reservation tickets cards. The most common charging and commuter passes etc. amount was ¥1000 yen per time and only 1% of chargings were for ¥10,000.

Users’ opinions Figure 6 Non-contact IC System Implementation Area The most strongly expressed opinions were the convenience of the non- contact function due to not having to Maebashi Utsunomiya remove the commuter pass from a Hitachi wallet or holder to pass it through the Ome gate mechanism; the ease of making a 100 km fare adjustment automatically using the SF card when exiting a gate after having travelled beyond the commuter stations; and the security of having the UenoharUenoharaa pass reissued in the event of loss or TokyoTokyo Narita theft. It was gratifying that customers appreciated one of the original aims of introducing Suica—better customer services. On the other hand, there were Oami some adverse opinions about the Atami Kurihama inconvenience of travelling outside the Kimitsu test area, the slow response times of the gates and problems of the Touch and Go method when the pass was in a bag, etc. More than 80% of monitors said better explained to users. However, it vending machines and fare adjustment that they had been able to pass easily proved extremely useful in machines were upgraded to handle the through the gate and more than 90% demonstrating that the system was new Suica card and a new network with said that the system was convenient. nearly ready for full-scale introduction. a central Suica server was installed to handle the Suica ID and card history Test conclusion Outline of Introduction of Suica functions and thereby prevent the As a result of conducting this test, it was Ticket System previously described problems with clear that some parts of the system ticket fraud and lost and stolen equipment needed revision, station Figure 5 shows the composition and commuter passes. In addition, since it employees needed more training and main elements of the Suica ticketing is impossible to visually check the data the system usage would have to be system. The existing gates, ticket stored in a Suica, a simple credit-card

Portable Suica reader (JR East)

wallet or card case, no need to line up at fare adjustment machines, and the security of being able to have card reissued if lost or stolen. On the other hand, the missing feature that customers would most like to see is expansion of These machines can check and print the Suica SF amount and usage history as well sell magnetic tickets. Suica usability such as joint use on lines (JR East) operated by other railway companies and the ability to be able to use Suica for other sized card reader (read-only) was permitting more passengers at these rail services such as shinkansen. designed and distributed to JR stations stations to use Suica services. (However, Furthermore, the contribution of the outside the area where Suica was to be some 70 of these stations had already Suica system to Japanese society was first installed as well as to stations of started using Suica from step 1.) recognized on 17 April when it won the other railway operators inside the Suica Prime Minister’s Awards at the 31st area and to station offices and Conditions After Suica Japan Industrial Technology Awards conductors in the area. Introduction and people have high expectations for The final stage was to bring the Suica its future success and development. system online in the JR East service More than 6 months have passed since In addition, when we analyze ticket data area for some 100 km around Tokyo Suica first came online as a next- before and after the Suica introduction, (Fig. 6). generation ticketing system for we find that: 1. there has been an improving passenger services in the JR approximate 10% drop in revenue from Step 1 on 18 November 2001 East service region and there have been ticket vending machines; 2. there has also The first part of the Suica system was no major problems at all. In addition, been a slightly larger than 10% drop in brought online on 18 November 2001 at since the takeover of Tokyo Monorail revenues collected by fare adjustment about 350 stations where automatic ticket by JR East on 21 April this year, Suica machines; 3. there has been an gates had already been installed on some can now be used at 470 stations in approximately 60% increase in revenue 3200 routes covering an area of about Greater Tokyo (461 JR East stations and collected at gates; 4. there has been an 100 km around Tokyo; passengers were 9 Tokyo Monorail stations). On 27 May, approximate overall 5% increase in able to travel freely through any of these there were a total of 4 million Suica revenues for short distance journeys from stations using either the conventional holders composed of 2.16 million Suica selected stations. Clearly, the magnetic tickets and cards or Suica commuter passes and 1.79 million introduction of Suica has led to changes commuter passes and Suica IO cards. Suica IO cards. Moreover, the peak in the structure of revenues at stations. number of Suica transactions per day This data was collected 2 months after Step 2 on 31 March 2002 (excluding use in commuter pass the Suica introduction and we wonder if The second step on 31 March 2002 sections) exceeded 20 million. this trend will become even more striking added simplified gates that can read The features that Suica customers like in the future. It is a very interesting result Suica to a further 110 stations (including most are smooth passage through gates when considering the structure of gates, unmanned stations) on some 350 routes, without needing to remove Suica from etc., in future stations.

26 Japan Railway & Transport Review 32 • September 2002 Copyright © 2002 EJRCF. All rights reserved. development of the present IC card are establishing a promotion group called Future Developments infrastructure. the IT Business Promotion Project under Currently, Suica cards with SF functions the leadership of JR East’s Executive The Suica non-contact IC card ticketing can be used in a radius of 100 km around Director for IT Business Projects. system recently introduced by JR East Tokyo. This SF function can be used a is the world’s largest such system and prepaid railway ticket but in technical features more than 7000 machines terms it is identical to electronic money. Summary networked over an area encircling For example, if the JR View Card—a JR Tokyo by a radius of 100 km that are East credit card held by about 2.14 million To assure the highest levels of used by more than 4 million IC people—was converted to an IC card and convenience for its passengers travelling cardholders each day. the credit card and SF card functions were up to 100 km around Tokyo, JR East has JR East is still examining how to use this combined, it would be possible to use invested huge management and financial huge installed infrastructure base to the combined card to pass through resources in introducing its world-beating improve its customer services even stations using the Suica infrastructure and Suica non-contact IC card infrastructure. further as well as how to develop it in to purchase goods and souvenirs, etc., In addition, the company plans to extend the future to improve JR East business. using the credit card functions. We are the Suica system to the shinkansen and An important point in considering already looking at this possibility and are regions outside the present 100-km future development of IC card systems preparing for a usage trial in late FY2002. service range as well as to joint service is the IC card infrastructure, which The third field of expansion is on lines of other railway operators. This requires a massive capital investment development through cooperation with will be achieved by integrating the JR that cannot be supported unless it the existing social infrastructure. ViewCard and Suica and by adding provides sufficient returns. The convenience store and mobile electronic money functions, etc., to JR East was fortunate this time because telephone are two good examples of so- promote ticketless and cashless railway its superannuated ticketing and gate called social infrastructure that are business. Moreover, links with existing systems were ready for upgrading but widespread throughout Japan and their social infrastructure such as mobile there may be cases where an efficient functions could be linked with Suica. For telephones will extend service levels and business model is hard to establish. In example, if a Suica IC chip was built into offer new business opportunities. particular, it is very important to consider mobile phones, people could purchase The recent IT revolution is having a huge who will provide the infrastructure and rail tickets anytime and anywhere. In impact not only on business activities but how it will be provided. It is important addition, it would also be possible to offer also on people’s daily lives, causing huge to grasp the infrastructure usage range various products and service contents by changes in the economies of societies. when examining future IC card mobile telephone, which would both JR East’s introduction of its Suica system development. There are three broad increase customer satisfaction levels and is based on its positive adoption of fields as described below. generate new business. leading-edge technologies and ensures The first is railway IC card infrastructure, IT needs to be more widely adopted to that the company is well positioned to especially how to promote joint use on further the future development of Suica, offer new safe 21st-century transport the lines of other railway operators. Joint and we are examining the potential of services tailored to its customers’ needs. use definitely increases passenger combining IT (including Internet and I convenience and it is also important in wireless technologies) with railway raising competition in the railway business. To ensure speedy uptake, we business. Moreover, JR East is examining how to expand the usage of Suica on its Akio Shiibashi own infrastructure, especially shinkansen and the networks of large regional cities. Mr Shiibashi is Senior Manager of the Suica System Project in the Facilities Department of JR As IC card usage spreads, we expect to East. He graduated in mechanical engineering from Saitama University. see great changes as much of the work of stations becomes cashless and ticketless. The second field of expansion is active