ONE-DIMENSIONAL barcodes are now printed directly onto parking tickets issued by police, enabling violators to promptly pay fines by scanning them through Alipay and WeChat.

The move is meant to bring convenience to drivers as well as prevent fraudulent activity by criminals who print fake fines, tickets and QR codes and stick them onto car windows, duping innocent drivers into paying money.

Payment via one-dimensional barcodes is safer than using two-dimensional barcodes, also known as QR codes, because two-dimensional barcodes can be easily forged.

The payments made via one-dimensional barcodes, exclusively designated by WeChat and Alipay for use by Shenzhen police, will be directly transferred to the State treasury.

A forged one-dimensional barcode is impossible to use for transfer to personal accounts.

According to the city’s traffic police authority, drivers registered with police Star Driver system can handle the payment within the system, even if they have lost their tickets.

This is one of the six measures that police adopted to serve the public and mark the 2nd anniversary of the launch of the Star Driver service system last week.

Drivers who move their vehicles within 10 minutes of the issuance of a parking violation ticket of 200 yuan (US$30) for illegal parking can apply for punishment exemption through the Star Driver system at police official accounts on WeChat and Alipay.

After issuing a ticket, police will send a follow-up text message to the driver, reminding them to move their vehicle and complete the punishment exemption form within 10 minutes. Users of Star Driver can apply for such exemptions once every three months.

The exemption doesn’t apply to designated roadside parking places operated by the Shenzhen Road Traffic Center.

The rule is also inapplicable when the violation takes place on expressways, overpasses, bus stops, one-way roads, restricted roads, busy roads, and exit and entry points of working units and housing estates.

The Shenzhen Star Driver service system now has 2.82 million users.

Shenzhen drivers can now handle 165 transactions without necessarily going to the offices of Shenzhen traffic police.

The transaction volume handled through the system accounted for one-third of the total transactions, according to Shenzhen traffic police.

(Richard Han)