Altteul Transportation Card 'SsolSsol' Saved 170,000 Won Last Year

22.8% Reduction in Transportation Expense Expenditure

Appearance of the Metropolitan Discount Transportation Card / Provided by Korea Transportation Safety Authority.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] Users of the Altteul Transportation Card saved an average of 170,000 KRW annually on transportation costs last year.

According to the analysis of the 2021 usage performance of the Altteul Transportation Card project by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority on the 23rd, users saved an average of 170,064 KRW per year, reducing their public transportation expenses by 22.8%. Altteul Transportation Card users used public transportation an average of 38.9 times per month and spent 62,226 KRW on fares. The amount saved averaged 14,172 KRW per month. In particular, low-income groups (below 50% of the median income) who received additional mileage saved an average of 15,571 KRW per month, which is 28.1% of their public transportation costs.

The Altteul Transportation Card project provides mileage (up to 20%) proportional to the distance users walk or bike from their starting point to the bus stop when using public transportation, and card companies offer an additional 10% discount. Since its launch in 2019, the number of users increased by 77% to 290,000 nationwide last year, with participation from 17 cities and provinces, compared to 164,000 the previous year. The average monthly benefit per person was 14,172 KRW (9,419 KRW from mileage accumulation and 4,753 KRW from card discounts). The transportation cost savings rate increased by 2.6 percentage points compared to the previous year.

The Authority aims to recruit 450,000 users this year. To achieve this, they plan to improve convenience by enabling the Altteul Transportation Card app to run on smartphone watches and revamp the service. They are also promoting amendments to the Act on the Promotion and Use of Public Transportation to provide more benefits.

Kwon Yong-bok, Director of the Authority, said, "We are working on improving the accumulation amount for low-income groups and various mileage accumulation systems linked with regional public transportation welfare policies," adding, "We will enhance user convenience and expand user benefits through win-win cooperation with private companies."

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