Busan Doubles Number of Child Public Transit Riders in Two Years
Passenger Numbers Jump from 12.8 Million to 24 Million After Free Fare Policy
Two years after the implementation of the free fare policy for children, the number of children using public transportation in Busan has doubled. To commemorate this, the city of Busan will hold a second anniversary event and operate a special "Tinyping Bus" throughout the month of October.
Appearance of the TinyPing bus operating in the city throughout October. Photo by Busan Marine Bus Instagram
Since October 2023, Busan became the first city in the country to provide completely free fares for all public transportation-including city buses, village buses, and urban railways-for elementary school students and younger. While some local governments had previously exempted city bus fares, Busan was the first to eliminate fares for all modes of public transportation. This was part of a "Public Transportation Usage Activation Policy" aimed at making public transit more accessible and familiar to children, so that they would naturally continue to use it as adults.
On September 25, Busan City announced, "A survey of users aged 6 to 12 before and after the introduction of free fares showed that the number of users nearly doubled." According to the data, from January 2022 to August 2023-a 20-month period before the free fare policy-there were 12.84 million users aged 6 to 12. In the same period after the policy was implemented, from January of last year to this past August, the number of users surged to 24.03 million.
Three Routes to Operate Throughout October
To celebrate the second anniversary of free public transportation for children, the city will hold the "Busan Children's & Family Public Transportation Experience Day" for two days starting on September 26 at the Student Education and Culture Center Square in Busan Children's Grand Park. This family-friendly festival is designed to promote public transportation culture and teach traffic safety through hands-on experiences.
During the event, there will be a "Catch Tinyping" performance, a children's traffic safety puppet show, a magic and bubble show, opportunities to board the Tinyping Bus, and traffic safety education sessions. There will also be a variety of hands-on programs, including making traffic safety sign keychains, crafting paper buses, and family caricature experiences. Notably, two Tinyping Buses will be on display at the venue.
After the event, for the entire month of October, three themed buses will operate on different routes: one "Bbanjjakping Bus" on Route 506 (Banyeo 4-dong-Dongnae Station-Busan Citizens Park), one "Bitnaping Bus" on Route 44 (Banyeo 3-dong-Busan Citizens Park-Dangam-dong), and one "Hachuping Bus" on Route 27 (Yongho-dong-Busan Station-Chungmu-dong).
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