'Impact of COVID-19' Last Year Seoul Subway Ridership Decreased by 27%

Annual total passengers transported 1.97 billion, decreasing by over 700 million compared to the previous year... Revenue also decreased by 450 billion KRW

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Due to the impact of social distancing measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the annual transportation volume and transportation revenue significantly decreased last year.

On the 28th, Seoul Metro announced through the 2020 transportation personnel analysis results, which analyzed the transportation statistics of the sections operated by the corporation in 2020, that the total number of passengers last year was 1,979.12 million (daily average 5,419,368), a 27.4% decrease compared to the previous year. In 2019, the total number of passengers in the sections operated by the corporation was 2,726.25 million (daily average 7,469,180).

The corporation explained, "Due to social distancing policies caused by COVID-19, citizens refrained from going out and implemented telecommuting, which greatly reduced the demand for public transportation."

Due to the decrease in the number of passengers, the corporation's transportation revenue also significantly declined. Transportation revenue in 2019 was 1.6714 trillion won, but in 2020 it recorded 1.2199 trillion won, a 27.0% (451.5 billion won) decrease compared to the previous year. The decrease in transportation revenue due to COVID-19 accounts for about half of the corporation's total deficit of 987.2 billion won last year.

Additionally, the total number of free rides on subway lines 1 through 8 was 196 million, accounting for 15.3% of the total ridership. When converted to fare, this amounts to approximately 264.3 billion won. Seniors aged 65 and over accounted for 81.8% (daily average 438,000), a 0.4 percentage point decrease compared to the previous year. Persons with disabilities accounted for 17.1% (daily average 91,000), and national merit recipients accounted for 1.1% (daily average 6,000).

The corporation explained, "The number of free rides has been increasing annually, especially as society ages, with the number and proportion of free rides by seniors aged 65 and over sharply increasing until 2019. However, last year, due to the shock of COVID-19, people refrained from going out, reducing travel demand."

The corporation is making every effort to fully prepare for the complete opening of the Hanam Line, an extension of Line 5 scheduled for the first half of this year (three stations: Gangil, Hanam City Hall, Hanam Geomdansan), and is also preparing to ensure smooth operation of the Jinjeop Line, an extension of Line 4 scheduled to open by the end of the year (three stations: Byeollae Byeolgaram, Onam, Jinjeop Gwangneung Forest) through cooperation with related organizations.

Kim Sang-beom, CEO of Seoul Metro, said, "Last year was a very difficult year for the corporation as the number of passengers significantly decreased due to COVID-19," and added, "Since it will still take a lot of time to completely overcome COVID-19, we will do our best this year as well to carefully monitor safety and quarantine measures to create a subway system that citizens can use with peace of mind."