Shanghai residents get ID cards 'police-free'
Shanghai residents have been able to apply for new ID cards on a machine inside police stations since December last year, and now they can also pick up their cards via a machine.
Such machines have been available at 11 police stations in the Pudong New Area, and since December 12 over 200 residents have collected their new ID cards from it.
The machine is expected to provide more convenience to residents and further reduce waiting times at police stations. It takes up to just two minutes to get a card from the machine, while it could take one half an hour waiting in a queue to get it from the counter, Pudong police said on Thursday.
Using the machine, residents need only enter their ID card number or do a fingerprint scan and then have their face matched through a camera before the card is spat out of the machine.
A resident gets his new ID card from a machine at Huamu Police Station in the Pudong New Area on Thursday morning.
While police officers handling household issues, including ID cards, work from 8:30am to 5pm from Monday to Saturday, residents who are to get their new ID cards on the machine can come any time on any day of a year.
Zhang Kai, director of the household administration office of the Pudong New Area Public Security Bureau, said all manufactured cards will be placed inside the machine and card applicants are told to collect their cards from the machine when they apply.
Currently only residents with Shanghai hukou (household registration) can use the machine, but later people from other parts of China will also be able to enjoy the service, Zhang said.
