Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Expands Coverage Area for 'Gwangyeok Altteul Transportation Card'

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] Starting from the 24th, residents of seven cities, counties, and districts including Jung-gu and Guro in Seoul, Cheonan and Asan in Chungnam, Gunsan in Jeonbuk, and Tongyeong and Goseong in Gyeongnam will be able to use the Metropolitan Altteul Transportation Card, which can reduce public transportation costs by up to 30%.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 23rd that the Metropolitan Altteul Transportation Card project area, promoted as a national agenda by the Metropolitan Area Transport Committee, will be expanded from the existing 101 cities, counties, and districts in 13 metropolitan cities and provinces to 108 cities, counties, and districts in 14 metropolitan cities and provinces.

Applicants can apply for and receive the card on the Metropolitan Altteul Transportation Card website. Issuance is only possible for residents of the project target areas (based on resident registration), but card usage and mileage accumulation can be done anywhere nationwide regardless of region.

The Metropolitan Altteul Transportation Card is a transportation card that provides mileage of up to 20% proportional to the distance traveled by walking or cycling when using public transportation, and an additional discount of about 10% offered by the card company.

Last year, Altteul Card users saved an average of 12,246 KRW per month (7,840 KRW in mileage and 4,406 KRW in card discounts). It was found that young people with high dependence on public transportation, such as those in their 20s (58%) and 30s (24%), actively participated. As of the 22nd, about 60,000 people were using the Metropolitan Altteul Transportation Card, a threefold increase compared to 20,000 at the end of last year.

Looking at the status by region, Gyeonggi-do, where all cities and counties are project target areas, accounts for the largest share at 50.9% (30,572 people). This is followed by Incheon City with 11.5% (6,889 people) and Busan City with 10.7% (6,434 people), with residents of major metropolitan areas using it the most.

The Metropolitan Area Transport Committee plans to continuously expand the project area so that public transportation users can reduce transportation costs. Since the Altteul Card mileage support is a project where the national government and local governments match funds 50 to 50, participation of the relevant local governments is essential. In particular, discussions are underway for Seoul City to participate in the project at the city level so that all Seoul citizens can use the Altteul Card.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.