'Climate Companion Card' Expanded to Southern Gyeonggi Area... Gunpo City to Participate

'New Concept Transportation Innovation' Climate Companion Card Includes Gunpo City
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Gunpo Mayor Ha Eun-ho Sign Business Agreement
Subway Lines 1 and 4 Expansion Under Review, Six City Bus Routes Included

The usage scope of Seoul City's unlimited public transportation pass, the 'Climate Companion Card,' which has succeeded in attracting massive popularity, will be expanded to Gunpo City. Amid ongoing complaints from citizens commuting outside Seoul despite the unprecedented benefits priced at around 60,000 KRW per month, Gunpo City has expressed its intention to participate in earnest. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon reiterated, "We will actively promote expansion throughout the metropolitan area."

On the 31st, Seoul City announced that in the afternoon, Mayor Oh and Gunpo Mayor Ha Eun-ho signed the 'Seoul-Gunpo Climate Companion Card Participation Business Agreement' at Seoul City Hall.

This agreement ceremony is significant as it marks the first discussion on expanding unlimited public transportation use with a local government in the southern Gyeonggi region, which has strong daily connections for commuting and schooling to Seoul. In particular, Gunpo City's average daily public transportation trips amount to approximately 149,000, of which about 32,000 trips, or 22%, are between Seoul and Gunpo.

On the 26th, one day before the pilot operation of the 'Climate Companion Card,' the unlimited public transportation pass introduced nationwide for the first time by Seoul City, promotional flyers for the Climate Companion Card were posted at Gwanghwamun Station on Subway Line 5 in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Through this agreement, the two cities plan to actively negotiate with Korail to enable the use of the Climate Companion Card at seven subway stations on Lines 1 and 4 in the Gunpo area. These seven stations are operated by Korail, and the specific timing and methods will be discussed through the Metropolitan Area Transportation Agency Working Council.

Looking at the zones, six Seoul city bus routes (5530, 5531, 5623, 540, 541, 542) passing through Gunpo City are already included in the Climate Companion Card service area. Accordingly, citizens commuting between the two cities will be able to conveniently use both subway and bus services with the Climate Companion Card. However, the inclusion of metropolitan buses will be reviewed later through consultations with relevant agencies.

Seoul City has been gradually expanding the service area, following agreements with Incheon City in November last year and Gimpo City in December, and now successfully concluding the agreement with Gunpo City. As citizens increasingly desire unlimited public transportation benefits in the metropolitan area due to commuting and schooling influences, Seoul plans to actively negotiate with other metropolitan cities in the future.

Mayor Oh stated, "With Gunpo City's participation in the Climate Companion Card, it is expected that transportation convenience for metropolitan residents will greatly improve," adding, "Since the Climate Companion Card was launched with enthusiastic interest from citizens, we will do our best to actively promote metropolitan area expansion so that more metropolitan citizens can experience this 'new concept transportation innovation.'"

Meanwhile, since the sales launch on the 23rd, the Climate Companion Card has been successfully introduced, surpassing approximately 260,000 cards sold. By type, about 97,000 are mobile cards, and about 166,300 are physical cards. The subway stations with the highest physical card sales were Seolleung Station, Hongdae Ipgu Station, Sillim Station, Kkachisan Station, and Samseong Station.

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