{ "schemaVersion": "1.0.0", "constitutionVersion": "1.0.0", "createdAt": "2026-08-12T00:00:00Z", "description": "Append-only Evidence Passport records. Old revisions are immutable; corrections create a new revision and preserve the previous permalink.", "entity": { "type": "project", "id": "hongkong-octopus-card", "title": "Octopus Contactless Fare & Payment Card", "canonicalUrl": "https://1001smartcities.org/projects/hongkong-octopus-card/" }, "currentRevisionId": "2026-08-23-evidence-baseline-c9", "revisions": [ { "id": "2026-08-23-evidence-baseline-c9", "createdAt": "2026-08-23T11:02:00Z", "effectiveAt": "2026-07-17", "changeType": "baseline", "summary": "Created the first structured Evidence Passport with 11 claims and 5 source dossiers.", "preparedBy": { "type": "automation", "label": "AI-assisted evidence preparation", "humanApproved": false }, "review": { "status": "unreviewed", "by": null, "date": null, "note": "Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither." }, "changes": [ { "operation": "add", "path": "/evidencePassport", "summary": "Added claim-level evidence mapping and source dossiers." }, { "operation": "add", "path": "/revisionHistory", "summary": "Established a permanent, hash-addressed baseline revision." } ], "snapshotHash": "sha256:6c3a9d425e8c477c9fda9604aa627d38fc6c99bb133d53f759db0748ebcd4ad9", "snapshot": { "asOf": "2026-07-17", "projectFingerprint": "sha256:877258a0e1112af9b8d9692c7be8293fd08ce081954b1e9dec0c68c533313791", "assurance": { "status": "unreviewed", "scope": "evidence-passport-revision", "statement": "AI-assisted structural preparation. This revision has not been reviewed by a human or subject-matter expert.", "machineChecks": [ "schema", "publication-diff-contract", "material-project-fingerprint", "claim-text-drift", "source-reference-resolution", "complete-source-dossier", "snapshot-hash" ] }, "projectState": { "status": "live", "outcome": "succeeded", "evidenceGrade": "independent", "timeline": { "started": 1997, "ended": null } }, "governance": { "operator": "Octopus Cards Limited", "actorTypes": [ "utility" ], "fundingModel": "private", "fundingDescription": null, "cost": null, "ownership": null, "decisionRights": null, "exitConditions": null }, "claims": [ { "id": "clm-f2db655084950716", "field": "snippet", "text": "Launched in September 1997 by a joint venture of Hong Kong's five big transport operators", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-e6d6ec145b951f94", "src-da4c90116810314a" ], "supportNote": "The operator's own corporate history names all five and dates the launch: \"Hong Kong's five major public transport operators—MTRC, Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC), Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB), Citybus and the Hongkong and Yaumatei Ferry (HYF)—established a joint venture known as Creative Star Limited in 1994\", and \"In September 1997, the Octopus fare collection system was officially launched\". The academic account says the same: the cards \"were introduced to the general public in September 1997\".", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-b898ae69f2b24941", "field": "snippet", "text": "Octopus was the largest integrated contactless smart-card fare system in the world at the time", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-da4c90116810314a" ], "supportNote": "The academic account states the superlative and its scope: \"The Creative Star Octopus System, when launched, was the largest integrated contactless smart card fare collection system in the world and accounted for HK$20 million in transactions (Industry Canada 1998).\"", "caveat": "The paper attributes the size to a 1998 Industry Canada report rather than measuring it, and the claim is about the system at launch, not today.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-d125708583636b6c", "field": "snippet", "text": "not the first: Korea had one running from 1996", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-da4c90116810314a" ], "supportNote": "The same paper names an earlier contactless system: \"In Korea, a smart card based system has been operational since 1996 and there have been up to 800,000 transactions. It has since expanded to other modes of transportation (e.g., subway). Their contactless smart card (as Octopus is too) was also capable of acting as an electronic wallet.\" The parenthesis is the paper's own, and it settles that the Korean card was contactless too.", "caveat": "The paper gives the Korean system no name and no city, so this entry does not name one either.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-2bbb8337e146f6a3", "field": "snippet", "text": "It lets Hong Kong tap to pay across the city's public transport modes", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-e6d6ec145b951f94", "src-c58ce8d516811b59" ], "supportNote": "The operator describes exactly this: the system \"eliminated the need for commuters to find exact change and allowed them to travel across multiple public transport modes using just a single card\". Its consumer page adds that the card reaches \"government tolled tunnel, parking, access control for residential and commercial building, support for various facilities in schools and self-service kiosks\".", "caveat": "No listed source lists the modes one by one, so this entry does not either.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-6c1f4a8c3580b956", "field": "snippet", "text": "at more than 190,000 acceptance points", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-711460d2b330c8f0", "src-30cb82c8bfffd492" ], "supportNote": "The operator's key statistics give the figure and the unit: \"Over 190,000 acceptance points for Octopus cards in Hong Kong\". The vendor case study puts it at \"almost 190,000 locations\".", "caveat": "Acceptance points are not retail outlets: the same operator counts tunnels, car parks, building access and school facilities among them. The 2016 company profile counted \"more than 19,000 retail outlets from over 8,000 service providers\".", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-5ddf0c5aebd2c3c8", "field": "snippet", "text": "Operator Octopus Cards Limited reports over 20 million cards in circulation", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-c58ce8d516811b59" ], "supportNote": "The operator's consumer page states it: \"Today, more than 20 million Octopus cards are in circulation.\"", "caveat": "The operator's own business page gives a higher number in a different unit — \"Over 24 million Octopus cards and products are in circulation\" — which counts watches, key rings and ornaments alongside cards. The lower, card-only figure is the one used here.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-1bf5f14b9ff55eff", "field": "snippet", "text": "15 million transactions a day worth HK$300 million", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-711460d2b330c8f0" ], "supportNote": "The operator's key statistics carry both: \"Octopus processes 15 million transactions a day\" and \"Daily transactions are valued at HK$300 million\".", "caveat": "Self-reported, undated and not broken down: the operator's 2016 company profile gave \"over 14 million transactions a day, valued at over HK$180 million\", so the value has risen far faster than the count.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-6c19a5192e8a126d", "field": "impact", "text": "Operator-reported 15 million transactions a day worth HK$300 million", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-711460d2b330c8f0" ], "supportNote": "The figures come from the operator's own key statistics page: \"Octopus processes 15 million transactions a day\", \"Daily transactions are valued at HK$300 million\".", "caveat": "No auditor, regulator or independent study has checked either figure, and the operator gives neither a period nor a method.", "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-6a6ae50a86dd27b9", "field": "impact", "text": "98% penetration among residents aged 15–64", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-c58ce8d516811b59", "src-711460d2b330c8f0" ], "supportNote": "The operator states the rate and the age band: \"98%* of people in Hong Kong possess Octopus\", with the footnote \"Figure quoted from a recent market research on individuals aged between 15 and 64.\"", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-585d891f41fe25ff", "field": "impact", "text": "a figure the operator attributes to recent market research it does not name", "statementKind": "descriptive", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-711460d2b330c8f0" ], "supportNote": "The asterisk on the operator's own statistic reads in full: \"Figure quoted from a recent market research on individuals aged between 15 and 64.\" It names neither the researcher, the date nor the sample.", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } }, { "id": "clm-a9bec81918eb2afb", "field": "lesson", "text": "Five competing operators pooled fare collection into one company in 1994, three years before a passenger tapped anything.", "statementKind": "quantitative", "textMode": "verbatim-from-project-record", "mappingStatus": "mapped", "sourceRefs": [ "src-e6d6ec145b951f94", "src-da4c90116810314a" ], "supportNote": "Both sources date the company before the card. The operator: the five \"established a joint venture known as Creative Star Limited in 1994, later renamed as Octopus Cards Limited (OCL) in 2002\". The academic account: \"The history of Octopus started in June 1994 when Hong Kong's five major public transportation operators … formed a joint venture company, Creative Star Limited, to develop an automated fare collection system based on contactless smart cards.\"", "caveat": null, "interpretation": { "added": false, "interpolation": false, "note": "The passport copies the published claim and its recorded source mapping without adding a conclusion." } } ], "sources": [ { "id": "src-c58ce8d516811b59", "title": "Octopus Cards Limited (operator)", "url": "https://www.octopus.com.hk/en/consumer/octopus-cards/about/index.html", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "octopus.com.hk", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-2bbb8337e146f6a3", "clm-5ddf0c5aebd2c3c8", "clm-6a6ae50a86dd27b9" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-07-17", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-23", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The operator's consumer page: more than 20 million cards in circulation, 98% penetration among people aged 15 to 64, the 1997 launch and the non-transport uses. It carries no transaction volume or value — those are on the operator's key-statistics page.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-30cb82c8bfffd492", "title": "Sony FeliCa case study (technology vendor)", "url": "https://www.sony.co.jp/en/Products/felica/casestudy/article/octopus.html", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "sony.co.jp", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-6c1f4a8c3580b956" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-07-17", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-23", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The chip vendor's case study, and the only source claiming a first — a narrower one than it is usually quoted for: \"the first contactless smart card system in the world adopting Sony FeliCa technology for e-money applications\". Source for almost 190,000 acceptance points and for more than 24 million cards and products in circulation. It names no operators and no modes.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-da4c90116810314a", "title": "Electronic Markets, 'Octopus: The Growing E-payment System in Hong Kong' (independent/academic)", "url": "https://electronicmarkets.org/fileadmin/user_upload/doc/Issues/Volume_11/Issue_02/V11I2_Octopus__The_Growing_E-payment_System_in_Hong_Kong.pdf", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "electronicmarkets.org", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "pdf", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-f2db655084950716", "clm-b898ae69f2b24941", "clm-d125708583636b6c", "clm-a9bec81918eb2afb" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-07-17", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-23", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "An independent academic account by two university researchers. It does not support a pioneer claim: it calls Octopus the largest integrated contactless smart-card fare collection system in the world at launch, and records a Korean contactless system operating from 1996. Source for the June 1994 joint venture and the five founding operators.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-711460d2b330c8f0", "title": "Octopus — Key statistics at a glance (operator)", "url": "https://www.octopus.com.hk/en/business/index.html", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "octopus.com.hk", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-6c1f4a8c3580b956", "clm-1bf5f14b9ff55eff", "clm-6c19a5192e8a126d", "clm-6a6ae50a86dd27b9", "clm-585d891f41fe25ff" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-07-17", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-23", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The operator's \"Key statistics at a glance\": 15 million transactions a day, HK$300 million in daily value, over 190,000 acceptance points, over 24 million cards and products in circulation, and the 98% penetration rate with its footnote that the figure comes from unnamed market research on individuals aged 15 to 64. Undated.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } }, { "id": "src-e6d6ec145b951f94", "title": "Octopus Cards Limited — Corporate Profile: Overview (operator)", "url": "https://www.octopus.com.hk/en/corporate/about-octopus/profile/overview/index.html", "publisher": { "name": null, "domain": "octopus.com.hk", "classification": "not-classified" }, "sourceType": "web-page", "language": "und", "role": "claim-evidence", "claimRefs": [ "clm-f2db655084950716", "clm-2bbb8337e146f6a3", "clm-a9bec81918eb2afb" ], "temporal": { "publishedAt": null, "updatedAt": null, "sourceCheckedAt": null, "recordLastVerifiedAt": "2026-07-17", "dossierCreatedAt": "2026-08-23", "retrievedAt": null, "status": "record-date-only" }, "locator": { "type": "descriptive-source-note", "value": "The operator's own corporate history: the five transport operators that founded Creative Star Limited in 1994, the September 1997 launch, the 2002 rename to Octopus Cards Limited, and what the card did for passengers. It makes no world-first claim of its own.", "exact": false }, "preservation": { "archiveUrl": null, "archivedAt": null, "contentHash": null, "status": "not-captured" } } ], "coverage": { "claimsTotal": 11, "claimsMapped": 11, "sourcesTotal": 5, "sourcesUsedByClaims": 5, "sourcesWithPublicationDate": 0, "sourcesWithArchive": 0, "sourcesWithExactLocator": 0, "sourcesWithContentHash": 0 }, "limits": [ "Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.", "Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.", "A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.", "The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim." ] } } ] }