A citizen books a bus with her city pass. [Photo/tidenews.com.cn]

On Aug 15, 2023, Hangzhou's 7170M bus route in the Binjiang area launched a responsive "cloud bus" service, allowing passengers to book buses via mobile phone.

To address challenges faced by elderly passengers unfamiliar with smartphones, Hangzhou upgraded its service on July 10 with "cloud bus 2.0" on the 1306M route. This upgrade allows bus reservations without a smartphone, making it the first route to support both online and offline booking.

"Research showed many 1306M passengers, including the elderly and students, struggled with online reservations due to unfamiliarity with smartphones," said Sun Leping, deputy general manager of Hangzhou Public Transport Group.

With "cloud bus 2.0," during peak hours on weekdays and holidays, buses on the 1306M route run on a fixed schedule without reservations. During off-peak hours (11 am to 4 pm on weekdays), passengers at the Qianbafang, Jiangcun Beijiaqiao, and Jiangcun Metro stations can use the "cloud bus" mode.

They can tap their IC cards on a POS machine and select "Book a Bus" on the screen to initiate a reservation. The system will then schedule the nearest available bus, displaying the vehicle's license plate and estimated arrival time. "The bus will arrive within 10 minutes," said driver Wu Weihua.

To cancel a reservation, passengers can simply tap their IC card again and select "Cancel Booking." Passengers can also scan a QR code at the bus stop to book or cancel reservations via a mobile app.

The bus arrives at the station. [Photo/tidenews.com.cn]