The Seoul Metropolitan Government has unveiled a major initiative to encourage public transit use as citizens grapple with persistently high oil prices driven by the prolonged conflict in the Middle East.
Starting this month through June, the city will provide a 30,000 won monthly rebate to users of the Climate Card 30-day pass, the city announced Wednesday. The measure aims to ease citizens' transportation costs amid the era of high oil prices and encourage them to reduce private car use in support of energy conservation.
The Climate Card is Korea's first integrated transit pass that offers unlimited use of Seoul's subways, buses, the public bicycle-sharing service Ttareungi, and Han River ferries for a fixed monthly fee. Since its launch in January 2024, the card has steadily grown in popularity, surpassing 20 million cumulative top-ups as of last month. Monthly users number approximately 800,000. The city expects the latest policy to deliver tangible results in boosting public transit ridership and saving energy, given the card's high satisfaction rate among citizens.
The centerpiece of the measure is the "30,000 won payback." Previously, users needed to spend at least 62,000 won on public transit under the standard tier to fully benefit from the unlimited pass. With the rebate, users can now break even with just 32,000 won in transit spending, significantly lowering the barrier to entry. The city expects the initiative to naturally draw car owners, freelancers, and students — groups that previously used public transit less frequently — toward buses and subways. An estimated 1 million citizens are expected to benefit.
The rebate applies to Seoul residents who top up and fully use a 30-day pass between this month and June. The city will verify individual top-up and expiration records before issuing the 30,000 won refund starting in June. Those who received refunds without completing their pass period, those who did not use their top-up balance, short-term pass holders, and users not registered on the T-money Card & Pay website — making individual verification impossible — are excluded from the rebate.
The city projects that the policy will help citizens save an average of 70% on transportation costs. Standard-tier pass holders can expect savings of approximately 66.3%, while young adults, teenagers, and two-child families can save 73.7%. Low-income households and families with three or more children stand to save 84.2%.
"We have devised an effective measure to ease citizens' transportation burden and boost public transit ridership amid the national crisis of high oil prices," Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said. "Seoul will take a leading role as the nation's capital in energy conservation and overcoming this crisis."
