"Saved 400,000 Won a Year, Enough for a Round-Trip Flight to Japan"... Smart Ways to Cut Transport Costs Without Wasting Cash [The Basics of Benefits]

Bonus if you know it, wasted cash if you do not
Flat-rate, refund, auto-optimization... evolving models for cutting transport costs

Editor's note"The more you know, the more you see, and the more you save." We live in an age overflowing with information, yet there are still many things each of us misses. [The Basics of Benefits] delivers useful information that can make you money in everyday life if you know it, and cost you if you do not.

#Lee, a 27-year-old office worker who commutes from Suwon in Gyeonggi Province to Gangnam in Seoul, recently discovered an unexpected fact while having lunch with a colleague. Although they took the same metropolitan bus and subway every day, their actual transportation expenses were very different. Lee was using a regular credit card, whereas the colleague had registered a refund-type transportation pass and was getting back around 30,000 won every month.

Citizens using the subway. The Asia Business Daily DB

For some people, the money that goes out every month is just "cash out the door," but for those who are prepared, it turns into a "bonus." Over a year, the gap comes to about 360,000 won. Even though their travel routes were the same, a single "setting" of which card to use made a clear difference in their wallets.

These figures are also confirmed by government statistics. According to the Metropolitan Transport Commission of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the average monthly refund amount for K-Pass users is 18,000 won, and users are getting back an average of about 26.6% of their transportation spending in cash.

Depending on which system people choose in advance, some get back more than one-quarter of their monthly spending, while others end up paying unnecessary costs for the same service. It is not the mere existence of a policy, but whether you know about it and have set it up in advance that determines the balance in your bank account each month.

"I save 30,000 won every month"... 9 out of 10 Climate Companion Card users are "satisfied"

A promotional flyer for the Gihudonghaeng Card is posted. The Asia Business Daily DB

The Climate Companion Card in Seoul, a representative example of the fixed-fare model, offers an exceptional benefit: for a monthly fee in the 60,000 won range, users can take unlimited rides on public transportation within Seoul, as well as use Ttareungi public bicycles and the Hangang River Bus without any limit on the number of uses.

These unlimited benefits are backed up by concrete figures. A survey conducted by the Seoul Institute of 5,068 Climate Companion Card users found that they reduced their monthly transportation costs by about 30,000 won on average compared with the previous fare system. Thanks to this clear cost-cutting effect, 92.9% of users said they were satisfied (very satisfied or satisfied), and 90.1% evaluated the policy positively (very positive or positive).

Gyeonggi and Incheon pursue a "broader refund coverage" strategy

Local governments in the Seoul metropolitan area have differentiated themselves by expanding the scope of refunds. "The Gyeonggi Pass" in Gyeonggi Province and the "I-Pass" in Incheon City have removed the previous K-Pass limit of 60 refunds per month and are operating an unlimited refund system that also returns the amount spent on trips exceeding 60 uses. In addition, unlike K-Pass, where youth benefits apply only to those aged 19 to 34, they have relaxed the youth age threshold to 39 and increased the discount rate.

A view of the Climate Action Opportunity Income application that lets users earn rewards when using Gyeonggi buses. Climate Action Opportunity Income

On top of this, Gyeonggi Province offers additional benefits through the "Climate Action Opportunity Income" app. If users engage in carbon-reducing activities such as walking, using public transportation, or riding bicycles, they can receive up to 60,000 won per year back in the form of local currency. When the existing transportation refunds are combined with the Opportunity Income incentives, young residents of Gyeonggi Province can receive more than 400,000 won per year in real benefits. Simply by knowing about and using these policies, people can save an amount equivalent to the price of a round-trip airline ticket to Japan or Southeast Asia every year.

The "Everyone's Card" era in 2026... mobility patterns become the standard

In the past, "77,000 won per month" was the primary criterion for choosing a product, but as of 2026, the standard has become more sophisticated, depending on refund rates by group and individual mobility patterns. For ordinary users who do not use public transportation very often, or for young people and low-income groups who enjoy higher refund rates, the refund-type option (K-Pass) is more advantageous, while for heavy users who frequently travel within Seoul, the fixed-fare option (Climate Companion Card) works better.

On the 2nd, when K-Pass launched, office workers were commuting by subway at Gwanghwamun Station in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Unlike the Climate Companion Card, a fixed?fare pass usable only in Seoul, K-Pass can be used in most municipalities and, if used 15 times or more per month on city buses, community buses, subways, metropolitan buses, or the GTX, refunds a certain percentage of the amount spent the following month. Photo by Jo Yongjun

If complicated calculations feel burdensome, "Everyone's Card," introduced in 2026, is a good option. Everyone's Card is an expanded and upgraded version of K-Pass, and existing K-Pass users can continue to use their current cards without having to get new ones issued.

There are two types: "Standard" and "Plus." Taking into account that fares differ by mode of transportation, the Standard type applies only to modes where the fare per trip (including transfer charges) is less than 3,000 won, while the Plus type provides refunds for all public transportation modes.

Instead of having to choose in advance between the basic type (the existing K-Pass refund method) and the Everyone's Card refund method, the K-Pass system sums up the user's spending for that month afterward and automatically applies whichever method offers the largest refund. This is a smart mechanism that allows everyone to receive the optimal refund without having to worry about detailed conditions.

Because transportation costs are fixed expenses that are deducted every month, it is easy to overlook them. However, in an era of high inflation, transportation costs are no longer just a simple fixed expense. They have become an area of so-called "strategic consumption," where with a bit of effort, users can turn essential spending into clear and recurring monthly savings.