Governor Kim Jintae: "In Gangwon, Transportation Is Welfare"...541 Billion Won Invested to Fully Expand Mobility Rights

Gangwon Province Expands K-Pass and Introduces "Everyone's Card"
"Doubling the Budget to Reach Every Corner of the Province"
Expanded Operation of Special Transportation, Low-Floor Buses, and Hope Taxis
Focus on Strengthening Fare Support and Improving Infrastructure

Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province (Governor Kim Jintae) announced on the 4th in the Inje-eup area that it will significantly strengthen public transportation and transportation welfare programs to ease residents' transportation costs and guarantee their right to mobility.

Kim Jintae, Governor of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, announced on the 4th in the Inje-eup area that he will significantly strengthen public transportation and transportation welfare systems to ease transportation costs for provincial residents and guarantee their mobility. Provided by Gangwon Province

Among the 17 metropolitan and provincial governments nationwide, the province has the second-largest area, and in light of this regional characteristic of long travel distances, it is comprehensively expanding its transportation welfare system. Accordingly, the transportation welfare budget has more than doubled from 25.9 billion won in 2022 to 54.1 billion won at present.

First, to guarantee the mobility rights of transportation-vulnerable groups and expand their social participation, the province will work to eliminate blind spots in public transportation by increasing the number of transportation options.

The province plans to introduce a total of 35 special transportation vehicles, including 9 new vehicles and 26 replacements or retirements, bringing the fleet to 274 vehicles by the end of the year. This exceeds the legally required 234 vehicles by 40 vehicles, representing an introduction rate of 117%. In addition, the province will subsidize operating costs for 18 municipal and county special transportation support centers to improve user convenience.

It will also replace 110 aging low-floor buses and further expand the "Hope Taxi" support program for residents in areas where public transportation is difficult to access. Hope Taxis are operated in areas where bus services are difficult to run or have low accessibility. The program began in 2014 in 15 villages and will be expanded to 828 villages by 2026. The annual number of users is expected to reach approximately 85,000.

Together with the expansion of transportation options, the province will also strengthen transportation cost support policies to ease the burden of using public transportation.

The province will expand the K-Pass transportation cost refund program. In addition to the existing proportional refund method (20% to 53.3%), it will newly introduce a flat-rate option called "Everyone's Card." It will also establish a new refund category for seniors aged 65 and older and expand participating areas from the current 15 cities and counties to all cities and counties in the province.

Everyone's Card refunds the amount exceeding a certain monthly threshold of public transportation use (from 30,000 won to 95,000 won), and users can receive the benefit without any separate application procedure. Between the basic (proportional) type and Everyone's Card (flat-rate), the method that yields the higher refund is automatically applied. This is expected to help reduce transportation costs for residents who frequently use public transportation and for transportation-vulnerable groups.

In addition, the province will also focus on strengthening transportation safety and improving infrastructure.

It will carry out projects to improve child protection zones and expand incentives for voluntary driver's license surrender by elderly drivers aged 65 and older. Ordinary voluntary surrenders will continue to receive 100,000 won in support, but for those who actually surrender a license they actively use, the support will be increased to up to 200,000 won, with the aim of further preventing traffic accidents involving elderly drivers.

Significant strengthening of public transportation and transportation welfare systems. Provided by Gangwon Province

Furthermore, the province will promote three parking environment improvement projects and three bus depot construction projects. In Inje, it will implement a project to improve the public bus depot and build the Sangdong public parking lot in Inje-eup.

Governor Kim Jintae stated, "Today is Ipchun, the start of spring; we will begin the spring breeze of transportation welfare here in Inje and spread it throughout Gangwon," emphasizing, "Because Gangwon Province covers such a vast area, transportation itself is welfare."

He went on to say, "We will significantly increase the number of special transportation vehicles equipped with lift devices and low-floor buses, and in areas without regular routes, we will expand Hope Taxis by more than 60 times to realize everyday, people-centered transportation welfare."

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