[Exclusive] Seoul to Introduce 'Tagless' System for City Buses: No Need to Tap Transportation Card

Boarding and Alighting Without Tapping a Transportation Card
Pilot Program to Begin in October
Targeting 36 Routes and Around 500 Buses
Expansion Depends on Recognition Rate and Usage Rate

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will introduce a contactless payment system (tagless) for city buses. This system allows passengers to board and alight from buses without tapping a transportation card or smartphone; payment is processed automatically when passing through a dedicated gate. While the system is expected to improve convenience for transportation-vulnerable groups, further discussions are needed to address recognition errors and to expand citizen usage.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Bus Transportation Business Association on June 11, the city plans to launch a tagless payment pilot project for 36 city bus routes and approximately 500 buses in Seoul as early as October.

A pilot project for a contactless payment system (tagless) will begin as early as October for city buses in Seoul. The photo shows a bus stop in Seoul. Photo by Dongjoo Yoon

Tagless refers to a public transportation fare payment method in which passengers do not need to tap a payment device on a terminal; the fare is processed automatically upon boarding. Passengers install a separate application (app) with tagless functionality on their smartphone, link it to the transportation system, and enable location information and Bluetooth so that sensors can recognize the device when passing through the gate.

This means passengers can board and alight from buses with their smartphones kept in their bags or pockets. Currently, the tagless payment method has been introduced on some intercity buses in Gyeonggi Province and on certain city buses in Changwon.

The tagless public transportation payment system is one of the key projects promoted by Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon to enhance citizen convenience. In line with the growing trend of expanding tagless adoption in public transportation, Seoul has decided to introduce this innovative payment system to further improve convenience for its citizens. Mayor Oh also emphasized the introduction of tagless at the city's New Year’s meeting earlier this year, announcing plans to expand its application starting with the pilot project.

Within Seoul, the tagless system is already being operated on the Ui-Sinseol Light Rail Transit section. In June last year, technology verification was conducted at Yongdap Station, Oksu Station, Sadang Station, and Dapsimni Station. Internally, the city is discussing ways to expand the service to subway lines 1 through 8.

To apply tagless to city buses, Seoul is discussing the scope of the pilot project with the Seoul Bus Transportation Business Association. The city is coordinating plans to install tagless equipment on 500 buses across 36 routes, but some project sites may change depending on passenger numbers and route travel times.

Tmoney will be responsible for the technical aspects of installing tagless equipment. The plan is to enable tagless payments with just the installation of the mobile Tmoney app. Through the pilot project, Seoul will check the system’s performance in situations with large numbers of passengers boarding and alighting, as well as the recognition accuracy of smartphones with the tagless app installed in various locations. The city will also evaluate passenger response and installation and management costs to determine whether to expand the system in the future. Tmoney will cover the installation and operation costs incurred during the pilot project.

However, variables such as system errors will need to be continuously anticipated and managed going forward. Unlike subways, city buses often have many people crowded into a small space, which can lower recognition rates, and boarding through the rear door is also common. There is also the possibility of recognition errors with adjacent buses. Above all, since a considerable budget is being invested, the city must also work to increase citizen usage rates. In one local government where tagless was introduced for subways, the usage rate was reported to be less than 1%, and issues of fare evasion were also raised. A Seoul city official stated, "Through the pilot project, we plan to identify and address technical and service issues, and use this as an opportunity to improve the city’s public transportation service system."