Gyeonggi Province to Offer Free Rides on 28 Routes Starting January 15 in Response to Seoul Bus Strike

Gyeonggi Province: "Do Not Tap Your Card Tomorrow Morning"
351 Public Management Buses to Seoul to Operate Free of Charge
"Free Bus" Notices to Be Posted on Bus Side Windows
Boarding Allowed Without Card Tapping
Free Ride Discussions Underway for 13 Routes with the MTC

Gyeonggi Province will begin offering free rides on 351 public management buses across 28 routes entering Seoul, starting from the first bus on January 15, in order to minimize inconvenience to residents caused by the Seoul city bus strike.

Gyeonggi Province will begin offering free rides on 351 public management buses across 28 routes entering Seoul starting from the first bus on the 15th to minimize inconvenience to residents caused by the Seoul city bus strike. Provided by Gyeonggi Province

Gyeonggi Province explained that, out of the 41 routes initially announced, the free ride policy will first be applied to the 28 routes under the "Gyeonggi Province Public Management System," for which the province holds budgetary and management authority.

The remaining 13 routes are managed by the Metropolitan Transport Commission (MTC) under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The province plans to continue discussions with the MTC to enable free rides on these routes as well.

In addition, if the strike becomes prolonged, Gyeonggi Province intends to expand discussions with the MTC and other relevant agencies to provide free rides on all public management routes-excluding privately operated ones-among the 128 routes within the province that are similar to the affected Seoul routes.

To prevent confusion among residents, Gyeonggi Province plans to notify them of the free ride service and the applicable routes via emergency text messages on the evening of January 14.

Additionally, notices indicating the free ride service will be posted on the side windows (boarding side) and card readers of all vehicles on the affected routes.

When boarding a bus with a free ride notice, passengers can simply get on without tapping their transportation cards on the card reader.