제 21 호 Implementation of Climate Card
- 작성일 2024-02-19
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Kicker: COVER STORY
Implementation of Climate Card
- A Comparison with ‘K-Pass’ -
By Yun-Seo Jung, Reporter
How much do you usually use public transportation? Have you ever been worried about the high transportation costs you usually spend on your way to and from school? If so, please focus on this content. The government has created a transportation card that allows unlimited public transportation for 62,000 won per month. Among them, the means of transportation that can reward are subway and bus in Seoul. If you pay an additional 3,000 won to 62,000 won, you can use unlimited access to the public bicycle ‘Ttareungyi’ in Seoul.
The Climate Card
Purchasing and charging of Climate Card have been available since January 23th, and have been used from the 27th. This transportation card can be used indefinitely for 30 days from the start of use. The range of regions that can benefit is limited to Seoul. In the case of subways, lines 1 to 8 in the Seoul area, and Gyeongui Jungang Line, Bundang Line, Gyeongchun Line, Ui New Line, and Sillim Line are all available except for Shinbundang Line with different basic fares. As I briefly mentioned earlier, the price is 62,000 won if you only use the Seoul subway and buses, or 65,000 won if you use the Seoul subway and buses as well as the city's public bicycle, the Ttareungyi. In other words, if you pay 62,000 won, you can use the Seoul subway and bus unlimitedly every 30 days, and if you pay 65,000 won, you can use the Seoul subway and bus as well as Ttareungyi unlimitedly every 30 days.
Then, where can you buy this transportation card? First, there are two types of Climate Card : mobile and physical. Mobile cards can only be issued and charged through the mobile TMoney app. The payment method is only available for account transfer, but it will be expanded to debit cards and credit cards in the future. Also, since it is only available for Android OS 12 or higher, iPhone IOS users cannot be issued a mobile card, but must be issued a physical card. For a physical card, you can purchase it at Seoul Metro (lines 1-8) customer safety rooms and convenience stores near stations. After purchasing a physical card, you can register the QR code on the back of the card on the “TMoney Card & Pay” homepage to recharge it at unmanned charger in the station. The unmanned chargers are located in the stations of the Seoul Transportation Corporation (Line 1-8), Line 9, Ui-Sinseol Line, and Sillim Line. If you do not register your card on the “TMoney Card & Pay” homepage, you will not be able to receive a refund or use the Ttareungyi. Also, unlike the mobile card, the physical card needs to be purchased separately for 3,000 won, and it can only be paid with cash.
However, as the Climate Card is only available in Seoul, there is no reason to use it except for those moving within this city. In addition, since people need to use public transportation more than 43 times a month to reduce costs, even those who only travel within Seoul will not benefit from using the Climate Card if they use public transportation less than 43 times a month. Therefore, refundable transportation cards, "K-Pass" and "The Gyeonggi Pass,” will be introduced for these people.
The K-Pass
K-Pass is a refundable card implemented by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which is scheduled to be introduced in May this year, and will be renewed to compensate for the shortcomings of the existing "Affordable Transportation Card." Public transportation such as GTX-A, city buses including wide-area buses, and subways are eligible for the benefits. And this card is compatible at the national level, except for some local governments with a population of 100,000 or less. Unlike the Climate Card, which pays a certain amount in advance and allows unlimited access to public transportation, this card can be refunded directly next month by cash, mileage, and card deductions. The refund rate is 20% for the general public, 30% for young people (ages 19-34) and 53% for low-income people. Based on the basic fare of 1,500 won for buses in Seoul, the general public can save up to 18,000 won per month, 27,000 won for young people, and 48,000 won for low-income people. When using public transportation more than 15 times a month, a certain percentage of the expenditure is refunded up to 60 times. In the case of the existing affordable transportation card, a discount was applied in proportion to the travel distance. Therefore, there was an inconvenience of pressing the start button and the arrival button on its own app to measure the distance. However, in the case of the K-Pass, the onerousness of pressing the start button and the arrival button has disappeared because the discount is applied according to the discount accumulation rate regardless of the distance traveled. In addition, the minimum conditions for using public transportation have been reduced from 21 times per month to 15 times per month. The method of getting the 'K-Pass' card is as follows. If you are an existing user of the Affordable Transportation Card, you will be able to use your existing transportation card without reissuing a new card by going through the K-Pass membership conversion process. In the case of new users, you can apply on the official K-Pass website or through a mobile application. You can select and use the transportation card products you want through the official website of 11 credit card companies.
The Gyeonggi Pass
The last one is "The Gyeonggi Pass" organized by the Gyeonggi Provincial Government. It will also be introduced from May this year. The Gyeonggi Pass is not much different from K-Pass, but there is a slight difference in the number and age of benefits. First, public transportation such as GTX-A, metropolitan buses, and subways are available. The applicable area is also nationwide, except for some boroughs with a population of 100,000 or less, and it is the same as the K-Pass. When using public transportation regularly more than 15 times a month, a certain percentage of the expenditure may be refunded through cash, mileage, and card deductions. However, unlike the K-Pass, which limits the number of public transportation rides to 60 times per month, the Gyeonggi Pass has a difference in that it expands the number of rides indefinitely. Besides, this card expanded the standard of youth age from 19-34 to 19-39, which does not benefit from the K-Pass project. Plus, transportation expenses are provided to children and adolescents between the ages of 6 and 18.
The transportation card refund system is a great benefit for students, workers, and other people who use public transportation a lot. Although public transportation charges have increased nationwide, the economic burden has also increased, but if you use a refundable transportation card, you will be able to reduce the burden a little. In the case of Climate Cards, which are currently being implemented first, a total of 327,000 copies were sold as of the 5th of this month after the pre-sale began on the 23rd of last month. Within two weeks of launch, they had sold over half of their goal. It is a pilot project period, so the number of users is expected to increase, and the benefits are expected to be further strengthened over time. If you use public transportation a lot, compare the benefits of various refundable transportation cards such as the "Climate Card,” "The Gyeonggi Pass,” and "K-Pass,” and use the transportation card that suits you.
Sources :
https://biz.newdaily.co.kr/site/data/html/2024/02/08/2024020800143.html