Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news

Passengers traveling through the Yangtze River Delta region only need to carry one public transport card in the coming three or five years, according to a seminar in Shanghai.
The adoption of a distinct public transport card in the region is significant to the integration of regional economic, transportation and tourism development, according to the Shanghai Urban Transport Bureau.
First of all, this transport card should have a uniform technical criteria and standard. It should first be adopted in big cities like Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou, and then be extended to the entire Yangtze River Delta region over the next three to five years. By that time, passengers can use the "one-transport card" on buses, metros and taxis in the region, said an expert at the seminar.
The idea was initially deliberated in 2002, and in October of that year, bus companies in Shanghai and Wuxi offered such cards. In 2003, Shanghai's public transport cards could be used in some of the taxis in Hangzhou, and in October, Shanghai and Wuxi's cards were adopted in all the buses and some taxis in Suzhou.