Bus ticket dodgers may find credit list is next stop

Ticket dodgers on the buses might find their next stop is the credit blacklist, just like those who steal a ride on the metro, according to the Shanghai Municipal Transport and Port Authority.

Yang Xiaoxi, deputy director of the city's transport and port authority, told a radio program on Sunday that the current penalty isn't harsh enough.

“We're increasing the punishment, like exposing freeloaders on Shanghai's credit-rating database,” Yang said.

A credit-rating database may soon be launched to clamp down on dishonest behavior.

The city's transport authority is also looking into some smartphone apps for taxi hires starting from next month.

The tipping function, for example, would be banned in August. Taxi drivers are also forbidden to answer and make phone calls as well as playing with their phones during their shifts.