Pohang City Reduces Citizens' Burden... Leading Public Stability with 'Bus Fare Freeze' for 10 Years

After the 2016 Bus Fare Increase... Fare Frozen for 10 Years

Bus Information System Establishment, Management Improvement, and Financial Savings Efforts

Pohang City has decided to freeze bus fares again this year to alleviate the transportation cost burden on citizens amid economic difficulties.

While bus fare increases are being discussed nationwide due to reasons such as decreased demand and rising labor costs leading to higher maintenance expenses, Pohang City decided to freeze fares to stabilize the living costs that citizens actually feel.

Since raising the bus fare from 1,200 won to 1,300 won in 2016, the city has operated public transportation without any fare increases for about 10 years. This is the lowest fare in the province and is well below the national average of 1,500 won.

Additionally, to guarantee mobility rights for transportation-vulnerable groups and expand the floating population, starting in the second half of this year, the city plans to implement a free bus fare program for citizens aged 70 and older to improve accessibility to public transportation, while focusing on upgrading transportation infrastructure such as bus stops.

Although there were opinions that a fare increase was necessary due to growing deficits from bus operations, the city stated that it is striving to minimize the rise in financial support by managing routes through the bus information system, reducing consumable costs, and cutting down on idle vehicles to lower holding costs.

Jung Jeong-deuk, Head of the Construction and Transportation Business Headquarters, said, “Considering the burden on citizens due to rising prices, we decided to freeze bus fares,” and added, “We will do our best to provide better public transportation services to citizens throughout this year as well.”

Pohang City Bus.

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