A reader asked about Commuter Suica and limitations. It’s a good question because there are Suica App limitations to be aware of when creating a virtual Commuter Suica or purchasing a commute plan for Apple Pay Suica use.
Let’s review the limitations of the current Japan Transit IC Mutual Use Association standard. The various JP transit cards (Suica, PASMO, ICOCA, etc.) are tightly bound to the physical rail network fare area of the card issuer (JR East, JR West, etc.). Transit IC cards are compatible and allow users to travel in any transit IC area with any card, but the system architecture is limited to a single fare area per trip that has to be calculated and paid in same fare area of origin. It does not allow continuous travel between 2 different fare areas (such as Suica and TOICA) on the same trip.
Unfortunately this results in ‘gotcha gaps’ when a user might start a trip from a Suica/PASMO region station but exit in an non-Suica/PASMO region or a station with no transit IC card coverage at all. Going from Tokyo to Minobu for example: Suica works fine up to JR East operated Kofu but the JR Central operated Minobu line that starts there is outside any transit IC card fare area. Good old paper tickets or cold hard cash only please. If you make the mistake of traveling from Tokyo to Minobu with Suica, you pay full fare to the train conductor or station attendant who then issue a paper voucher that you have to use to get Suica reset for transit use when back in a Suica area station. This kind of nonsense should disappear with Super Suica in 2021.
Metropolitan areas like Tokyo (Suica & PASMO) are highly integrated fare areas that operate as one virtual region covering all possible commuter routes that transverse different rail company lines such as JR East, Metro, Seibu, etc. Buses are also part of the mix and covered by Suica or PASMO cards.
Apple Pay Suica supports Suica Commute Plans of course, and the mobile options are getting better all the time, however there are some limitations:
- The start point must be a JR East station
- Bus options are not directly available
- Shinkansen Commute Plan (FREX) options are somewhat limited
Suica FREX Shinkansen commute plan configurations not available in Suica App can be purchased via a web link (virtual), or JR Station (plastic) then loaded into Apple Pay like any Suica card.
Suica bus commute plans have to be purchased at a bus company window such as Seibu, Tokyo Metro, Odakyu, Tokyu, etc. depending on the bus line. Confirm with the bus company that a Mobile Suica commuter purchase is available for the commute route. Purchase the Mobile Suica commute plan then show the attendant your iPhone so they can record the Suica ID card number and add it.
Suica student commute plans are available for junior high school, high school and university students is Suica App but you must have student ID in order to apply. For complex Suica commute plan route options not covered in Suica App, Mobile Suica support has a web link to apply for a virtual Suica Commute Plan.
You must be logged in to post a comment.