Daegu Residents Aged 73 and Gyeongbuk Residents Aged 70 and Older
Free Transportation Card Expansion Begins July 1
Starting July 1, Daegu City will expand the service area for the integrated free transportation card for seniors from the current three municipalities?Daegu, Gyeongsan, and Yeongcheon?to include nine local governments in total, adding Goryeong, Gumi, Gimcheon, Seongju, Cheongdo, and Chilgok.
Daegu residents aged 73 and older, as well as Gyeongbuk residents aged 70 and older, are eligible for the free transportation card.
This expansion follows the launch of the senior free transportation program in July 2023 by three local governments (Daegu, Gyeongsan, Yeongcheon), the implementation of the metropolitan public transportation transfer system across nine municipalities on December 14, 2024, and the full-scale introduction of the senior free transportation program by six additional Gyeongbuk municipalities starting July 1, 2025.
Daegu City and the nine municipalities in Gyeongbuk have been preparing to establish a metropolitan senior free transportation card system based on the 'Daegu Senior Free Transportation Card System' to enable reciprocal use of the cards across the Daegu-Gyeongbuk living area. Ahead of the July launch, the municipalities signed an agreement on June 25 for mutual use and settlement.
As a result, seniors residing in Daegu can continue using their existing integrated free transportation cards to ride not only city buses but also Daegu Metro and the Daegyeong Line, enjoying free access to public transportation across all nine municipalities.
In Daegu, the free transportation card is currently available to those aged 73 and older, with the eligibility age being lowered by one year each year, so that by 2028, those aged 70 and older will be eligible. The municipality where the senior is registered as a resident will cover the cost of their free transportation usage.
Meanwhile, Daegu, Gyeongsan, and Yeongcheon have already been using the integrated free transportation card for seniors since July 1, 2023, marking a first in the nation. As of the end of May 2025, the cumulative number of uses reached approximately 3.3 million, with 1.4 million trips from Daegu to Gyeongsan and Yeongcheon, and 1.9 million trips from Gyeongsan and Yeongcheon to Daegu.
According to a survey and big data analysis conducted in July 2024 to mark the program's first anniversary, 99.5% of seniors expressed satisfaction. The main purposes of travel were leisure and social activities, hospital visits, shopping, and work, in that order.
The expansion of the integrated free transportation card service area is expected to serve as a strong link that will further promote cultural, economic, and tourism exchanges between regions in the future.
Heo Junseok, Director of the Daegu City Transportation Bureau, stated, "Through this expansion of the integrated free transportation card service area, we hope that seniors will experience tangible transportation welfare and that their increased mobility will invigorate the local community as a whole. We will continue to strengthen cooperation among local governments to further enhance transportation welfare."
With the opening of the Daegyeong Line in December 2024, the expansion of the metropolitan public transportation transfer system, the extension of Metro Line 1 to Hayang, and now the expansion of free rides for seniors to nine Gyeongbuk municipalities, Daegu City is expected to solidify its position as a leading city in the metropolitan transportation sector.
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