Subway Fare Increase After Holidays... '1400 Won' from First Train on the 7th

Youth and Children Fare Adjusted to 800 Won and 500 Won

The basic fare for the Seoul subway will increase after the Chuseok holiday. Following the taxi base fare hike earlier this year and the bus fare increase in August, subway fares will also be raised.

According to Seoul City on the 3rd, starting from the first subway train on the 7th, the basic fare will increase by 150 won from the current 1,250 won to 1,400 won (based on transportation card). The increased basic fare will be applied simultaneously across all metropolitan subway sections including Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi, and Korail.

Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Earlier, the city held a public hearing on public transportation fare adjustments in February, followed by consultations with the Seoul Metropolitan Council in March and deliberations by the Price Countermeasure Committee in July, finalizing this public transportation fare increase plan. This is the first time in eight years since June 2015 that Seoul public transportation fares have risen.

Originally, the city planned to raise the subway basic fare by 300 won, but considering the burden of inflation, it decided to increase it by 150 won this time and add another 150 won increase in the second half of next year. Previously, in August, the bus basic fare was raised by 300 won from 1,200 won to 1,500 won.

Earlier, on August 12th, the city raised the basic fare for city buses by 300 won starting from the first bus. Accordingly, the basic fare for card-based branch and feeder buses increased by 300 won from 1,200 won to 1,500 won. Additionally, ▲circulation and differential buses increased by 300 won (1,100 won → 1,400 won), ▲express buses by 700 won (2,300 won → 3,000 won), ▲night buses by 350 won (2,150 won → 2,500 won), and ▲village buses by 300 won (900 won → 1,200 won). In February this year, the basic fare for Seoul taxis also increased. From February 1st, the basic fare for most medium-sized taxis in Seoul rose by 1,000 won from 3,800 won to 4,800 won.

With this fare increase, the price of a single subway ride ticket will be adjusted from the current 1,350 won to 1,500 won, a 150 won increase. Since single-ride tickets are purchased with cash, the fare is set 100 won higher than the transportation card fare to cover the costs of ticket machine operation and staffing.

The discount rates applied to youth and children fares will remain unchanged. Currently, youths receive a 43% discount off the regular fare, and children receive a 64% discount. With this basic fare increase, youth fares will rise by 80 won to 800 won, and children fares will increase by 50 won to 500 won. This is the first adjustment to youth and children fares in 16 years since 2007.

Monthly passes (60 rides within 30 days) will also be adjusted in line with the same discount rates as before. The Seoul-only 1-step monthly pass will increase from 55,000 won to 61,600 won. The 18-step monthly pass will be adjusted from 117,800 won to 123,400 won. Even if fares increase, subway monthly passes purchased before the increase will remain valid until their expiration date (within 30 days from the purchase date).

Policies such as the metropolitan area integrated transfer discount and the early morning discount, which offers a 20% discount on the first transportation used before 6:30 a.m., will be maintained. However, since the basic fare varies by transportation mode, it is advisable to review the related policies again.