Seoul Citizens Used Public Transportation 3.4 Billion Times Last Year... "Average 1.24 Transfers and 33 Minutes to Destination"

Seoul City Utilizes 300 Billion Public Transport Big Data...Analyzes Citizens' Public Transport Usage
Usage Frequency Subway>Bus>Taxi>Ddarungi Order
38 Earth Circumferences per Day, 'Seoul City Bus'...Most Used Station 'Express Bus Terminal'
'Ddarungi' Members 3.88 Million...Short-Distance Transport Linking Public Transport and Citizens' Lives Established

As social distancing measures such as private gathering and business hour restrictions were fully lifted, citizens hurried on their way to work at Gwanghwamun Station in the Seoul subway on the 18th, returning to the pre-COVID-19 daily life. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The annual public transportation usage by Seoul citizens amounts to 3.4 billion rides, averaging 9.3 million rides per day. On average, users transfer 1.24 times and reach their destinations in about 33 minutes, with usage frequency ranking as subway, bus, taxi, and Ddareungi (Seoul’s public bike-sharing system).

On the 11th, Seoul City announced that it analyzed the "2021 Public Transportation Usage Status" based on 300 billion public transportation card data collected over the year. The analysis showed that 57.1% of Seoul citizens traveled less than 10 km, followed by 27.4% traveling 10?20 km, and 15.5% traveling over 20 km. On average, users transferred 1.24 times per trip, traveling 11.3 km in 33.1 minutes.

The total number of public transportation users was 3.4 billion, with an average of 6.86 million purpose trips per day, and the total daily usage by transportation mode reached 9.3 million rides. The main transportation modes used by citizens were subway > bus > taxi > Ddareungi, with subway and bus usage rates at about 91.5%.

Seoul buses circle the Earth 38 times daily... Most used stop is ‘Express Bus Terminal’

Seoul city buses operate with 7,395 vehicles on 358 routes, running 40,564 times daily and covering a total of 1,534,688 km, making them one of Seoul’s representative public transportation modes responsible for citizens’ mobility. Village buses operate on 249 routes with 1,651 vehicles, averaging 8.4 km per trip.

Buses are used about 3.9 million times daily, which is a significant number exceeding the entire population of Berlin, Germany’s capital (3.57 million) by approximately 330,000 users. Among Seoul’s 6,577 bus stops, the stop with the highest average daily bus usage was ▲Express Bus Terminal, followed by ▲Guro Transfer Center, ▲Mia Sageori, ▲Kyungbang Times Square, and ▲Gangnam Station. These stops are characterized by multiple routes stopping, convenient transfers, and proximity to subway stations.

Notably, children and adolescents prefer buses among public transportation modes. 69.1% of children and 59.4% of adolescents use buses, mainly for short trips under 10 km (children 82.4%, adolescents 72.6%) for ▲commuting to school ▲attending academies ▲leisure activities.

Top 10 subway stations with most users are all on Line 2... High usage also on Lines 7 and 5

Seoul subway currently operates 10 lines covering 360.5 km with 335 stations, running 4,637 trips daily with 470 trains transporting citizens. The subway, the most used public transportation mode, has an average daily ridership of 4.61 million. The most used lines are Line 2, which circles major Seoul areas (1.07 million), Line 7 passing through Gangnam (550,000), and Line 5 connecting downtown areas like Gwanghwamun and Jongno (500,000).

Additionally, Seoul subway, free from traffic congestion concerns, operates on average at a depth of 17.6 meters underground. The deepest line is Line 6 (22.57 m), and the deepest station is Sanseong Station on Line 8 (55.79 m).

Representative transportation mode ‘Ddareungi’ has 3.88 million cumulative members... Equivalent to 362 round trips Earth↔Moon

‘Ddareungi,’ which has repeatedly won first place in the ‘Top 10 Seoul City News’ recognized by citizens, shows high usage rates as a short-distance and daily mobility mode linked with public transportation, supported by Seoul City’s supply expansion.

The number of Ddareungi members is 3.88 million (about one in three Seoul citizens), with a cumulative usage of 100 million rides and a total travel distance of 275.31 million km, equivalent to 362 round trips between Earth and the Moon. Usage increased by about 35% compared to the previous year. As of last year, there are 2,600 Ddareungi rental stations and 45,000 bikes in operation, with an average annual supply expansion rate of 15.2% over the past five years.

Notably, about 31.5% of Ddareungi’s average daily rides occur during commuting hours, increasing by about 5.3% year-on-year, indicating that citizens increasingly use it as a key mode of transportation for commuting.

High per capita transit rates in Jung-gu and Jongno-gu... Some citizens traveled 122 km

The districts with the highest public transportation trips per capita are Jung-gu and Jongno-gu. As Seoul’s representative downtown areas, Jung-gu (population 120,000) and Jongno-gu (population 140,000) recorded 280,000 and 260,000 trips respectively, with per capita trip rates of 2.33 for Jung-gu and 1.79 for Jongno-gu, which are very high compared to Seoul’s average per capita trip rate of 0.56.

There were also cases of citizens traveling 122 km using public transportation. Mr. A traveled 122.7 km from Dangogae in Nowon-gu → downtown → Sinchang, Asan City, Chungnam, paying 3,750 KRW and using transportation for 3.4 hours. Mr. B traveled from Susaek-dong, Chang 1-dong, Nokcheon, Cheongnyangni in Eunpyeong-gu to Jeonnong 1-dong in Dongdaemun-gu, transferring 4 times, paying 4,150 KRW and using transportation for 4.5 hours. Mr. C used public transportation 44 times from 3 PM to 11 PM.

Seoul City plans to publish a booklet titled ‘Seoul Transportation in Data 2021,’ containing interesting data related to Seoul’s transportation, to share the results of citizens’ transportation usage patterns and utilize it for discovering various transportation policies.

Baek Ho, Director of Seoul City Urban Transportation Office, said, "After passing through a long tunnel of two years of COVID-19, with social distancing and outdoor mask mandates lifted, citizens’ daily lives are normalizing, so it is time to create a transportation environment that enhances citizen convenience." He added, "Seoul City will continue to analyze usage status through big data-based information analysis and do its best to establish a more detailed and convenient public transportation infrastructure."

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