Korail "Changed Holiday Reservations for Transportation-Disadvantaged, 9 out of 10 Satisfied"

Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) announced on the 25th that 9 out of 10 customers (89.2%) were satisfied with the changes made this year to the reservation system for holiday train tickets for transportation-vulnerable groups.

A Jungang Line KTX-Eum train extended to Seoul Station is waiting to depart at Seoul Station. / Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

This survey gathered opinions on the recent improvements in advance reservations for holiday train tickets for transportation-vulnerable groups (senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and national merit recipients), specifically the increase in the proportion of seats available for sale (from 10% to 20%) and the extension of the reservation period (from 1 day to 2 days). The survey was conducted through Consumer Insight, a professional public opinion research organization.

Out of 17,161 transportation-vulnerable individuals who participated in the reservation, 1,290 respondents (all of whom reserved holiday tickets) answered questions regarding ▲the method of reservation ▲their most preferred reservation method ▲and satisfaction levels.

This holiday’s reservation for transportation-vulnerable groups was made via phone (41.6%), mobile (41.1%), and PC (17.3%), with phone and mobile usage rates being relatively high. Among respondents, 97.6% successfully reserved their desired tickets, and 98.9% stated that the "reservation service considerate of transportation-vulnerable groups" is necessary.

Satisfaction by reservation method was highest for mobile at 91.3%, followed by phone at 88.8%, and PC at 85.2%. The most preferred reservation methods were online at 65.8%, phone at 29.9%, and station counters at 4.3%. Among online users (PC and mobile), 95.5% found it more convenient than the traditional station counter (offline) reservation, and 92% of phone users agreed. Customers with past experience purchasing holiday tickets at station counters (241 people) also preferred online (43.6%) or phone (40.7%) methods.

Additionally, the total number of seats available for sale in this reservation was about 78,000, an increase of approximately 27,000 seats (52%) compared to last year’s holiday period. A KORAIL official stated, "To make it easier for transportation-vulnerable groups to reserve holiday tickets online, we plan to promote the reservation methods through YouTube videos and incorporate them into training programs of related organizations (Korea Senior Human Resources Development Institute, Korean Senior Citizens Association)."