Jinju City Establishes Korea's First Metropolitan Transfer Discount System

Signed a Business Agreement with New Transportation Platform Operator

Jinju City in Gyeongnam announced on the 15th that it has signed a business agreement with T-money and Studio Galilee to establish the Jinju-type MaaS platform in order to actively promote the country’s first nationwide metropolitan transfer discount system, the ‘Jinju-type Future Mobility Project (MaaS, DRT).’

The signing ceremony took place after T-money (in the MaaS field) and Studio Galilee (in the DRT field) were selected as the platform operators for the Jinju-type MaaS platform project, which forms the foundation of the Jinju-type Future Mobility Project in August. The agreement was reached through negotiations on the transfer mileage accumulation method of Jinju-type MaaS, phased introduction plans for DRT, and the direction and schedule for platform construction. Attendees included Mayor Cho Gyu-il, T-money CEO Kim Tae-guk, and Studio Galilee CEO Kim Hyun-myung.

Jinju City, Group Photo of Signing a Business Agreement with New Transportation Platform Operator.

Jinju-type MaaS (Mobility as a Service) provides an integrated mobility support service that ① connects all types of transportation needed to travel from the departure point to the destination (including DRT), enabling optimal route search, fare information, call and reservation, and payment services all within a single app; and ② offers transfer mileage accumulation benefits equivalent to the city bus card fare when transferring within 24 hours from a metropolitan transportation mode (airplane, railroad, intercity bus, express bus, etc.) to internal transportation modes (city bus, taxi, DRT) in Jinju.

DRT (Demand Responsive Transport) is a new demand-responsive public transportation mode that, unlike conventional buses operating on fixed routes, operates like a call taxi that users can summon when needed.

The Jinju-type Future Mobility Project is the nation’s first metropolitan transfer discount system linking the introduction of MaaS and DRT, utilizing a private platform nationwide. Based on this business agreement, Jinju City will oversee the overall and detailed implementation plans of the project; T-money will provide integrated mobility services and manage transfer mileage settlement and accumulation for Jinju-type MaaS; and Studio Galilee will be responsible for DRT design, operation, and customer support.

A Jinju City official stated, “Since September 26, we have been holding project briefings for transportation operators and related organizations. Not only local transportation operators but also Gyeongnam Province and neighboring local governments have shown great interest.”

Mayor Cho Gyu-il said, “I am pleased to have established this agreement with two leading companies in the MaaS and DRT fields, which will reduce citizens’ transportation costs and provide a more convenient integrated mobility support service. I ask that Jinju City do its best to respond to regional extinction through this project, increase public transportation usage, and set a good precedent for leading future mobility.”

Meanwhile, with the platform operators selected, Jinju City plans to open a public recruitment for DRT transportation operators. Starting with existing taxi transportation operators, sequential project briefings will be held for city buses, intercity buses, express buses, railroads, and airlines, with operators expected to be selected in November. In December, demonstration tests and resident briefings will be conducted, aiming for introduction in January next year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.