Up to 53% Refund on Public Transportation Fees... Early Introduction of 'K-Pass' in May

Earn Mileage for Using Public Transportation More Than 15 Times a Month
General 20%·Youth 30%·Low-Income 53% Refund

'K-Pass,' which improves the inconveniences of the existing Altteul Transportation Card, will be introduced early starting this May.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 17th that it will advance the application period of K-Pass, originally scheduled to be implemented in July this year, by two months to alleviate the burden of public transportation costs for the public.

K-Pass is a transportation card designed to refund a certain percentage of the amount spent (20% for the general public, 30% for youth, and 53% for low-income groups) the following month if public transportation such as city buses and subways is used regularly 15 times or more per month.

While the Altteul Transportation Card refunded mileage proportional to the distance traveled by walking or bicycle, K-Pass refunds a fixed percentage of the amount spent regardless of the travel distance. There is no need for departure or arrival records.

For example, if an average of 70,000 KRW is spent monthly on public transportation, the general public can save 14,000 KRW, youth 21,000 KRW, and low-income groups 37,000 KRW. Annually, this amounts to approximately 170,000 to 440,000 KRW. Additionally, users can receive extra discount benefits (up to 10%) from card companies.

The minimum usage frequency condition has been reduced from 21 times to 15 times per month. Furthermore, long-distance commuters using the Metropolitan Express Railway (GTX) Line A and metropolitan buses can also use K-Pass. The maximum refund amount per trip will be announced separately later.

Users already using the Altteul Transportation Card do not need to reissue their cards if they go through the membership conversion process to K-Pass. New users can select their desired transportation card product through the official K-Pass website, mobile application (app), or the websites of 11 card companies starting this May.

The Ministry plans to increase the number of local governments participating in K-Pass from the current 176 to 189. Except for some local governments with populations under 100,000, virtually all local governments nationwide will participate in the project.

Kang Hee-eop, Chairman of the Metropolitan Area Transportation Committee at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "Although public transportation fares have increased nationwide, increasing the economic burden of using public transportation, using K-Pass will significantly reduce transportation costs anywhere in the country." He added, "We plan to actively discover region-customized K-Pass projects that can further enhance benefits for local residents based on K-Pass in cooperation with local governments.”