Seoul City’s 'Transportation Cost Support for Pregnant Women' Receives High Response... Over 24,000 Applications in Two Months

Transportation Cost Support for Pregnant Women and Mobility-Impaired Starting July 1
Private Vehicle Fuel Costs 73.8%, Taxi Fares 21.2%, Bus and Subway 3.5%

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 6th that the ‘Transportation Expense Support for Pregnant Women’ program has received a high response, with 24,100 applicants within two months of its launch.

To enhance mobility convenience for pregnant women, who are considered transportation-vulnerable, and to alleviate the economic burden on families with newborns, Seoul began providing transportation expense support of “700,000 KRW per person” to all pregnant women residing in Seoul starting July 1 this year. This support program is the largest of its kind among local governments nationwide and is fully funded by the city. It is also the first case to include fuel expenses within the scope of usage.

Analysis of the support performance over two months showed that by August, 24,100 pregnant women had received support funds, which were used in the order of private vehicle fuel expenses at 73.8%, taxi fares at 21.2%, and bus/subway fares at 3.5%.

The support funds are provided on a credit (or debit) card issued in the name of the pregnant woman. The voucher points received can be used for public transportation (bus, subway, taxi) and private vehicle fuel expenses (including LPG and electric vehicles). When the card is used at transportation-related businesses, the points are automatically deducted, making the usage method simple and convenient.

The eligibility for transportation expense support is for pregnant women who have been registered residents in Seoul for more than six months as of the application date, and who apply from after the third month (12th week) of pregnancy until before three months after childbirth. Applications can be made both online and in person (at the local community service center of the applicant’s address), and online applications can be submitted on the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Pregnant Women Transportation Expense Support website without submitting additional documents.

Meanwhile, the transportation expense support program for pregnant women is set to support multicultural family pregnant women who had previously been excluded from eligibility, and an ordinance amendment bill has been proposed at the September extraordinary session to allow retroactive application from the program’s start date of July 1.

Kim Seon-soon, Director of the Women and Family Policy Office of Seoul, said, “The birth rate is hitting record lows every year,” adding, “We hope that Seoul’s transportation expense support for pregnant women will improve mobility convenience for these transportation-vulnerable individuals and somewhat ease their economic burden. We also plan to continue promoting various support policies that satisfy citizens.”

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