FOR those who live in Kunshan or Taicang in Jiangsu Province but work in Shanghai’s Jiading District, a special commuter pass can save them significant time now that strict border control measures are in place.

Normally, people who enter Shanghai need to have their residence and employment information verified and be placed under home quarantine, which poses a problem for companies in the suburban district, which have employees living in neighboring cities.

The commuter passes, however, are meant to indicate that an individual has been certified as healthy and should therefore be exempt from certain containment measures. After temperature checks, commuters between Shanghai and Jiangsu need only to show the passes and their identity cards, although people from Kunshan are also required to show a pass issued by their residential complex.

The new policy, which is reciprocal, is the result of an agreement signed by the Jiading District government and its counterparts in Kunshan and Taicang last week.

Companies in Jiading can apply for such passes for their employees in need from the district government.

At the Anting checkpoint on Cao’an Highway, the only checkpoint between Anting Town in Jiading and Huaqiao Town in Kunshan, a separate lane is now reserved for people with the special passes from 7am to 9am and from 4pm to 6pm every day.

The Jiading District government said the new measures meet the needs of an increasing number of people going back to work in recent days. About 10,000 people and 3,500 motor vehicles enter Shanghai through the Anting checkpoint daily, where the average waiting time is now one hour.

It’s estimated that up to 15,000 motor vehicles, 5,000 non-motor vehicles and 1,500 pedestrians will enter Shanghai via this checkpoint when work resumes as normal for everyone, the government said.