Getting around, day one

One transit code for the metro and the bus — and the card if you'd rather not use an app

In short

How do I pay for the metro and a city bus with one tap in China?

Enable the transport code once in your wallet app. It is a QR code the city's transport operators issue, and after you enable it you swipe the same code at both the metro gate and the bus reader — 'Code-scanning success' or a beep and you're through — with the fare charged to your wallet after the trip (ride-first, pay-later). It is explicitly not the physical transit card. If you would rather not run an app at all, the Ministry of Transport-standard 交通联合 (transport-union) card is one physical card that taps buses and metros across member cities.

See all transport guides

Applies to

Any foreign visitor moving around a Chinese city on the surface layer — a city bus with no English, or the metro — who wants one pay-method that works across both, or a no-app card fallback.

Check before you rely on it

The metro-turnstile QR has its own guide; this page is the cross-modal code plus the physical card. No opened source gives a per-city bus fare or a cash-only fallback, and the physical-card city count is the official 2018 figure — the specifics we could not confirm are printed below rather than asserted.

Information checked: July 29, 2026

The metro-QR page owns the turnstile. This one owns the tap that also works on a city bus — the wallet transport code and the physical interoperable card — so the moment the metro doesn't reach and you won't open a ride-hailing app, you can still get on.

Back to transport Just the metro QR code

One code, both the metro and the bus

How the wallet transport code works

From the Alipay+ Transport Code FAQ: what it is, that the same code taps metro and bus, how you enable it, and the honest edge cases — including that it is not the physical card.

What the transport code is

The Transport Code is a QR code issued by public transport operators in each city; once you enable the Transport Code service you use that code to ride public transport. It is a per-city operator QR living inside your wallet app, not a single national code — the city you are in issues the one you use.

What is the Transport Code

Source: Alipay+ (Ant International) official product documentation, docs.alipayplus.com — Transport Code FAQs — Public Transport Solution (Alipay+ Docs) (read July 29, 2026)

The same code boards both the metro and the bus

Swipe the Transport Code against the code-scanning device when taking public vehicles; if it shows 'Code-scanning success' or beeps, the gates open and you may board the metro or bus. That cross-modal tap — one code for both the metro turnstile and the bus reader — is exactly what the metro-only QR page does not cover.

Taking public transport

Source: Alipay+ (Ant International) official product documentation, docs.alipayplus.com — Transport Code FAQs — Public Transport Solution (Alipay+ Docs) (read July 29, 2026)

Enable once, then pay after the ride

To set it up, open the Alipay+ Cross-border Transport mini program, tap Enable service, enter your personal information and sign the Auto Debit agreement. It runs in Ride First and Pay Later mode: after you exit a station or leave a vehicle, the system creates a deduction request from your itinerary and charges the payment method bound to your wallet.

Enable service / Ride First and Pay Later

Source: Alipay+ (Ant International) official product documentation, docs.alipayplus.com — Transport Code FAQs — Public Transport Solution (Alipay+ Docs) (read July 29, 2026)

It is not the physical transit card

Asked whether the transport code can be associated with an existing physical transit card, the FAQ answers plainly: no — the Transport Code is not linked to physical transit cards. So the wallet ride-code and the physical 交通联合 card below are two separate things; you choose one, not both on the same tap.

Association with a physical card

Source: Alipay+ (Ant International) official product documentation, docs.alipayplus.com — Transport Code FAQs — Public Transport Solution (Alipay+ Docs) (read July 29, 2026)

Personal use, offline, and the 10-minute bus rule

The transport code is for personal use only — you cannot use your code to pay for a friend. It can generally be used without a network connection, so display it before you tap. And some transport operators stipulate that the same code cannot be scanned on the same bus repeatedly within 10 minutes — so a travel companion needs their own code.

Usage rules

Source: Alipay+ (Ant International) official product documentation, docs.alipayplus.com — Transport Code FAQs — Public Transport Solution (Alipay+ Docs) (read July 29, 2026)

Tapping a city bus

The same code, on the bus

Paying a mainland city bus with no English and no cash slot means the reader by the door — the same transport code you use for the metro.

As you board, swipe the transport code against the reader by the door — the same code you use at metro gates. A 'Code-scanning success' or a beep means you are on.
One code, one rider: the code is for personal use only, so it cannot pay for a companion — each person needs their own.
Some operators block scanning the same code on the same bus again within 10 minutes, a guard against double-tapping.
The code can generally be shown without a network connection, so it works even if your data drops as you get on.

Source: Alipay+ (Ant International) official product documentation, docs.alipayplus.com — Transport Code FAQs — Public Transport Solution (Alipay+ Docs) (read July 29, 2026)

The physical card, if you'd rather not use the app

One interoperable card across member cities

The Ministry of Transport-standard 交通联合 card — a no-app fallback. These are the official 2018 interoperability figures, cited with their date rather than a larger number we could not confirm.

The MOT-standard 交通联合 (transport-union) card

The interoperable transit-card programme runs under the Ministry of Transport's 《交通一卡通运营服务管理办法（试行）》 (Interim Measures for Transit-Card Operation Services) and the MOT Transport Service Department's arrangement, with the National Transit-Card Data Exchange Center compiling the interoperability information. It is the national transport-union standard card, not a commercial scheme — the no-app fallback for a visitor who would rather not run a wallet ride-code.

Programme basis

Source: National Transit-Card Data Exchange Center (全国交通一卡通数据交换中心), under the MOT Transport Service Department, www.cttic.cn — 全国交通一卡通互联互通服务信息发布 (Release of nationwide transit-card interoperability service information) (source dated 2018-07-09; read July 29, 2026)

One card, many cities and many modes

As of the 2018-07-09 release, interoperability covered 245 prefecture-level-and-above cities plus the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, spanning bus, rail, taxi, ferry, bicycle and intercity coach. So a single physical card can, within member cities, tap across several kinds of transport.

Coverage (2018 release)

Buy it in one city, tap it in another

At that date, 210 cities had all their urban bus lines interoperable and 13 cities had interoperable rail lines — 22,000 bus lines and 52 rail lines in total. A transport-union card bought in one member city can be used on public transport in other member cities. Coverage has grown since, but this guide cites the official 2018 figures rather than a larger number we could not open an authority for.

Coverage (2018 release)

When a scan fails

What the message means, and what to do

The transport code's own failure states, from the Alipay+ FAQ — so a red screen at the gate is a known step, not a dead end.

The code shows 'Please refresh'

Tap to refresh the code, then scan again.

It shows 'Can not be used' or 'Identification failed'

You are trying the wrong code for the service area — you are outside the operator's zone. Switch to the code for the city you are in.

The gate does not open

Go to the station customer-service centre for help.

An entry or exit record is missing

Supplement it in the app via 'Missing ride records'.

Source: Alipay+ (Ant International) official product documentation, docs.alipayplus.com — Transport Code FAQs — Public Transport Solution (Alipay+ Docs) (read July 29, 2026)

A short hop

Shared bikes, in one paragraph

Not a page of its own — just the general flow from a government-service explainer, without the deposit and credit claims we could not source.

For a short hop the metro and bus don't cover, a shared bike can bridge the gap. A government-service explainer (China Daily) describes the general flow only:

Complete a quick identity verification using your passport, and bind a valid payment method — a linked bank card, WeChat Pay, Alipay or another supported method.
Scan the QR code on the bike to unlock it, and ride.
At the end, park in a designated area — yellow bike icons mark available bikes, blue 'P' icons mark official parking. Some older bikes lock via a manual latch under the seat.
Named operators include Meituan (yellow), HelloBike (blue) and Qingju (green).

Source: govt.chinadaily.com.cn — China Daily government-service portal — How to use shared bikes in China? (China Daily government-service portal Q&A) (source dated 2025-08-14; read July 29, 2026)

In short

Transit-code and card questions travellers ask

One code or one card, network or none, paying for a companion, and what a failed scan means.

Can one QR code pay for both the metro and the bus?

Yes. Per the Alipay+ Transport Code FAQ, once you enable the transport code you swipe the same code at the metro gate and at the bus reader, and it charges your wallet after the trip in ride-first, pay-later mode. It is a per-city operator code, so the city you are in issues the one you use.

Is the transport code the same as my metro QR code?

It is the cross-modal version: the same code taps buses as well as the metro. The Alipay+ FAQ also states the transport code is not linked to any physical transit card. The narrow metro-turnstile QR has its own guide; this page is the one code that works across metro and bus.

Do I need a network connection to scan?

The Alipay+ FAQ says the transport code can generally be used without a network connection. Open and display the code before you reach the gate or the bus reader, so a dropped signal does not hold you up.

Can I use my code to pay for a travel companion?

No. The transport code is for personal use only, and some buses block re-scanning the same code within 10 minutes. Each traveller needs to enable their own code.

What if I'd rather not use an app at all?

Buy a physical 交通联合 (transport-union) transit card. It is the Ministry of Transport-standard interoperable card, and the official 2018 interoperability release shows it working across hundreds of member cities on buses and metros — a card bought in one member city taps in another.

How many cities does the physical card cover?

The only official page we opened is the 2018 interoperability release, which lists 245 prefecture-level-and-above cities plus the XPCC at that date. Coverage has grown since, but this guide cites the official 2018 count rather than a larger figure we could not open an authority for.

The scan failed at the gate — what do I do?

Per the Alipay+ FAQ: 'Please refresh' means tap to refresh the code; 'Can not be used' or 'Identification failed' means you are using the wrong code for that service area; if the gate still won't open, go to the station customer-service centre; and a missing entry or exit record can be added via 'Missing ride records'.

Not confirmed

What no opened source would let us say

The claims we could not source from a page we opened are printed here rather than asserted.

No opened authority states a nationwide or per-city flat city-bus fare (e.g. the commonly-cited ¥2) or an exact-cash-only fallback with no change given. The Alipay+ FAQ confirms the transport code boards 'the metro or bus' and carries the same-bus 10-minute rule, but it names no fare amount; the '¥2 flat, no change, cash slot' details appeared only in third-party travel compilations that were not opened as authorities, so this guide does not assert a bus fare or a cash-only rule.
The physical-card city count here is the 2018 figure on the only official page opened (245 prefecture-level-and-above cities). Larger current figures (such as '330-plus cities') appeared only in news snippets that were not opened as authorities, so they are not asserted — the interoperability claim is pinned to the CTTIC release with its 2018 date and a 'coverage has grown since' hedge.
The shared-bike aside carries only the general unlock flow from the China Daily government-service portal explainer (passport verification, bind a payment method, scan to unlock, return to a marked spot). It does not state that no deposit is required or describe a Zhima-credit unlock — those claims appeared only in third-party blogs never opened as authorities — so they are left out, and no bike-operator English help page was opened.

Just the metro QR code

The narrow metro-turnstile QR — buying and scanning at the gate — on its own page.

Open the guide

The metered street taxi

Flagging a marked cab: the meter, the receipt, your right to refuse, and the 12328 complaint line.

Open page

All the transport guides

Airport transfer, high-speed rail, ride-hailing and more — every getting-around guide in one place.

Open page

One transit code for the metro and the bus — and the card if you'd rather not use an app

How do I pay for the metro and a city bus with one tap in China?

How the wallet transport code works

What the transport code is

The same code boards both the metro and the bus

Enable once, then pay after the ride

It is not the physical transit card

Personal use, offline, and the 10-minute bus rule

The same code, on the bus

One interoperable card across member cities

The MOT-standard 交通联合 (transport-union) card

One card, many cities and many modes

Buy it in one city, tap it in another

What the message means, and what to do

The code shows 'Please refresh'

It shows 'Can not be used' or 'Identification failed'

The gate does not open

An entry or exit record is missing

Shared bikes, in one paragraph

Transit-code and card questions travellers ask

Can one QR code pay for both the metro and the bus?

Is the transport code the same as my metro QR code?

Do I need a network connection to scan?

Can I use my code to pay for a travel companion?

What if I'd rather not use an app at all?

How many cities does the physical card cover?

The scan failed at the gate — what do I do?

What no opened source would let us say

Just the metro QR code

The metered street taxi

All the transport guides

Leave each page knowing what to do next.

I need the next step

I know the problem

I am ready to choose