Stalking On The Subway? Just One Of The Many Uses Of Your Yikatong Card

We’ve told you before about the functions of your handy yikatong transit card but there’s something new. Is it a) tracking errant husbands, b) stalking the cute girl from the office or c) tracking down thieves? The answer is … all of the above. In addition to the obvious answer of transportation and paying for goods in certain shops, the humble transit card just got more exciting.

The yikatong tracking system is a decade old but not until recent privacy concerns had users in Beijing realized just how much more they can do with their cards. Located at the top-right corner of the official website, the tracking service requires only a card number to gain access to information such as exact time and place of swiping. Subway stations, recharging machines and buses (including the line number of the bus taken) can be in your hands in seconds.

This function has so far allowed people to find out about extramarital affairs, stalk others and even locate thieves. Take this recent example:

Mr. X lost his bag containing his cell phone and yikatong card. After calling his own cell number, the woman who found the phone agree to return it in exchange for 500 kuai. Discovering his number was no longer valid the following day, Mr. X decided to study the woman's travel pattern and track her down with the card number on the receipt from purchasing his yikatong. Having talked with her, Mr. X learned she was between 30-40 and living in the Shifoying area. After two months of tracking her travel, Mr. X located the place where the woman worked as a small vendor and was able to find her with help from the market supervisors. Criminals 0, general public 1.

As we would expect, this function has been somewhat controversial. Some suggest that it should discourage thieves from stealing yikatong cards but others are concerned about being tracked without their consent. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. What do you think? Leave a comment below.