Shanghai public transport: tickets, passes and apps

For almost every visitor the answer is the phone. Alipay and WeChat Pay both generate a Shanghai metro and bus QR code inside the app; you scan it at the gate, the fare is deducted, and nothing needs topping up in advance. Set the transit mini-program up before you fly, because it needs a working payment method and a data connection.

A physical stored-value card (Shanghai Public Transport Card) still makes sense if you would rather not depend on a phone battery, are travelling with children, or are staying long enough to want one card for metro, bus, ferry and taxi. It costs a small deposit plus whatever you load on it, and you tap in and out.

Skip the tourist passes unless your day is dense. A 24-hour metro pass only beats pay-per-ride once you are making roughly five or more journeys in the window; a 72-hour pass needs a similar pace across three days. If you are doing two or three rides a day between sights, the QR code is cheaper.

The metro gate takes three things: a QR code from Alipay or WeChat Pay, a stored-value card, or a single-journey token bought from a machine. Machines accept coins and small notes and have an English menu; queues are worst at interchange stations in the morning peak.

Foreign contactless bank cards are not something to rely on at Shanghai gates — coverage is patchy and changes, so treat the app QR as your default and a card as a backup only. If your phone dies, station staff can sell you a single token at the service window.

Buses work the same way: scan the QR on the reader, or tap the card. Some buses are exact-fare only if you pay cash, so keep small notes or use the app. Taxis and DiDi are separate — DiDi inside Alipay takes foreign cards and is the easiest late-night option once the metro stops.

Shanghai metro pricing is distance-based, not zone-based: a short hop in the centre is the cheapest band, and a cross-city ride to the outer suburbs costs more. You tap in, tap out, and the system charges the band you actually travelled. There is no zone map to learn.

That means the practical rule is simple: short central trips are cheap, long airport runs cost more, and a pass only wins if you are riding often. Budget roughly ¥3–10 per metro journey and ¥2 for a bus ride (2026 estimate).

The Maglev from Pudong airport is a separate ticket and only reaches Longyang Road, where you change to Line 2 or 7 — it is fast but not free, and it does not go to the city centre.

Every metro station entrance has a security scan: bags go through the machine, and a bottle of water may be tested. It adds a minute or two, so allow for it when timing a connection.

Metro signs, maps and announcements are in English as well as Chinese, and station names are numbered, which makes navigating easy even without data. The last trains leave around 23:00, so plan a DiDi for a late dinner.

Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay with a foreign card before you fly — this is the single thing that makes Shanghai transport frictionless, and it is much harder to fix once you are standing at a gate. Keep a small amount of cash for the rare exact-fare bus.