Last Year Seoul Subway Operating Revenue 1.1542 Trillion Won, 482.5 Billion Won Decrease Compared to Pre-COVID... Struggling with Revenue Decline for 2 Consecutive Years

Seoul Subway's Total Ridership Last Year 1.95 Billion, Significantly Down from Pre-COVID 2.67 Billion
Lines 1-8 Fare-Free Riders Exceed 200 Million, 83% Seniors, 16% Disabled... Cost Compensation Requested to Presidential Campaigns

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] It has been revealed that Seoul’s subway experienced a difficult year as the annual number of passengers and transportation revenue significantly decreased last year due to the impact of COVID-19 social distancing measures, following the trend seen in 2020.

On the 3rd, Seoul Metro analyzed the transportation statistics of its operating sections last year in the "2021 Passenger Analysis Results," reporting that the total number of passengers was 1,951.03 million (an average of 5,345,299 per day), which is an increase of 16.57 million (0.9%) compared to the previous year, but considering the additional passengers from the newly opened stations on Line 5 (Gangil, Hanam City Hall, Hanam Geomdansan) and Line 8 (Namwirye), the actual number of passengers showed no change. This is interpreted as a result of the continued social distancing policies from the beginning of the year, with citizens refraining from going out and implementing work-from-home measures, causing the demand for public transportation, which had decreased since last year, to still not recover.

Accordingly, the company’s transportation revenue decreased by 3.27% from the previous year to 1.1542 trillion won, marking a decline for two consecutive years. Transportation revenue was 1.6367 trillion won in 2019, dropped to 1.1932 trillion won in 2020, and further fell to around 1.15 trillion won. This two-year consecutive decrease has made the company’s financial situation even more difficult, as it was already burdened by fare-free transportation without government compensation.

Seoul Metro explained, "The estimated decrease in transportation revenue attributed to COVID-19 is 482.5 billion won, which is nearly half of the company’s total expected net loss of just over 1 trillion won last year," adding, "When including the 2020 losses since the COVID-19 impact began, the total decrease reaches around 900 billion won."

The day with the highest number of passengers last year was November 26, with about 6.95 million users, while the day with the lowest number was January 1, with about 1.43 million users. By day of the week, Friday had the highest average daily ridership at 6.4 million (119.8% of the daily average), and Monday had a relatively lower figure at 6.13 million. Sundays and public holidays recorded only 2.85 million passengers, about 53% of the weekday average (6.27 million). By time of day, the morning and evening rush hours from 7 to 9 AM and 6 to 8 PM accounted for 38.4% of total passengers, while the late-night hours from 11 PM to midnight (0.7%) had the fewest users.

Additionally, Line 2 carried the most passengers, with an average daily ridership of 1,565,580, accounting for 29.3% of the total line transportation volume. This is nearly double that of Line 7, which ranked second with 810,768 daily passengers (15.2%). By line, Lines 1, 2, and 4 saw decreases in passenger numbers, while the other lines experienced increases. Line 1 had the largest decrease, and Line 5 had the largest increase.

The station with the highest daily ridership last year was Gangnam Station on Line 2 (93,824 passengers), followed by Jamsil Station (76,419) and Sillim Station (74,818). Sillim Station, which was second in 2020, dropped to third place, while Jamsil Station rose to second. The stations with the lowest ridership were Sindap Station on Line 2 (1,638 passengers), Namtaeryeong Station on Line 4 (1,693), and Dorimcheon Station on Line 2 (1,838). The newly opened stations last year had average daily riderships of 4,360 at Gangil Station on Line 5, 6,726 at Hanam City Hall Station, 6,341 at Hanam Geomdansan Station, and 4,907 at Namwirye Station on Line 8.

Furthermore, the total number of fare-free passengers on subway Lines 1 through 8 last year was 205.74 million, accounting for 15.9% of total boardings. The fare loss from transporting these passengers amounts to 278.4 billion won. Specifically, seniors aged 65 and over accounted for 83.0%, an increase of 1.2 percentage points from the previous year, marking the highest proportion in the past five years. Persons with disabilities accounted for 16.0%, and other groups such as national veterans and independence activists made up 1.0%.

To address these fare-free transportation losses, the company is requesting the National Assembly to amend the Urban Railroad Act to enable central government support. Labor and management representatives from six urban railroad operators nationwide (Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju), including Seoul Metro, gathered in Busan on the 25th of last month and adopted a petition for national funding compensation for fare-free transportation, which will be submitted to the presidential campaign offices of the Democratic Party and the People Power Party.

Meanwhile, this year, Seoul Metro plans to operate train services on the Jinjeop Line extension of Line 4 (three stations: Byeollae Byeolgaram, Onam, Jinjeop), scheduled to open in March, and provide stable service through smooth cooperation with related organizations. For the Jinjeop Line, station services will be managed by Namyangju Urban Corporation, and facility management will be handled by Korea Railroad Corporation. Additionally, for new lines and stations opening this year, such as the Sillim Line light rail (Saetgang to Gwanaksan) and the Shinbundang Line extension (Gangnam to Sinsa), Seoul Metro will not operate these sections but will prepare to ensure smooth transfers by maintaining transfer stations connected to its operating sections.

President Kim Sang-beom said, "Following 2020, 2021 was another very challenging year for the company due to a significant decrease in passengers caused by COVID-19," adding, "Although the COVID-19 situation remains unstable, we will do our best this year to carefully monitor safety and quarantine measures to create a subway system that citizens can use with confidence."

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