IruCa

IruCa(イルカ,Iruka)is a rechargeable contactlesssmart cardticketing system for public transport introduced byTakamatsu-Kotohira Electric Railroad(Kotoden) inTakamatsu,Japanfrom February 2, 2005. The name comes fromICandiruka(dolphin or need), the latter being the mascot character of the company. The Dolphin character made 2002 and to cautionary lesson to employees used to be disliked by the locals by bad behavior of them at that time. "Iruka" was from someone said "Kotoden wa iruka, iranai ka?" or "Is the people need us, or not?", an employee meeting when soon after fail the company. Just likeJR East'sSuicaorJR West'sICOCA,the card usesRFIDtechnology developed bySonycorporation known asFeliCa.As of July 2006, 77,000 cards are issued.

The card is usable in all the Kotoden railway lines, as well as Kotoden bus lines. The function as anelectronic moneyis also experimented in the limited number of stores in Takamatsu, includingTenmayaDepartment Store.

Types of cards[edit]

IruCa commuter pass: A rechargeable commuter pass.
IruCa ticket:
- Free IruCa: Blue. A blank card that doesn't need a registration.
- School IruCa: Yellow. Students of some selected schools can use this.
- Senior IruCa: Purple. For 65 years old or above.
- Kids IruCa: Red. For elementary school students.
- Green IruCa: Green. For handicapped customers. Fares always become half priced.