Mileage Payback and Increased Bus and Subway Dispatches... Seoul City Promotes Public Transportation Use

10% Payback on New Climate Companion Card Charges

Flexible, Concentrated Public Transit Dispatches During Commute Hours

District Incentives and Five-Day Rotation for Public Parking Lots

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will conduct a 10% mileage payback for new Climate Companion Card users throughout April. This measure is designed to ease the burden of living expenses for citizens amid heightened volatility in international oil prices caused by the Middle East crisis. The city will also implement concentrated public transportation dispatches and strengthen district-level transportation demand management.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on March 26, the Climate Companion Card mileage payback promotion will run from April 1 to April 30. It targets users who purchase the Climate Companion Card for the first time, charge the “30-day pass,” and use it during that period.

Seoul Station subway platform. 2026.01.14 Photo by Dongjoo Yoon

To receive a Tmoney mileage payback, new users must sign up on the Tmoney Card & Pay website, register their Climate Companion Card number, and then charge and use the card. After Tmoney verifies each user’s charging and usage history, the payback will be provided as Tmoney mileage in June.

The mileage received through the payback can be converted into recharge funds for both mobile Tmoney and physical Tmoney transportation cards and used to pay transportation fares. It can also be used at convenience stores, cafes, and restaurants.

Special transportation measures will also be implemented. The city plans to extend the concentrated subway and bus dispatch times by one hour before and after commuting hours. This will be applied flexibly, depending on on-site conditions, to improve dispatch efficiency and facilitate essential travel. The extension of concentrated dispatch times will take into account trends in passenger increases and operational conditions.

The city will also collaborate with district offices to manage transportation demand. In the annual transportation demand management evaluation for districts, those that make efforts to promote public transportation will receive separate incentives. Currently, if companies voluntarily participate in traffic reduction programs such as alternate-day driving, five-day rotation, paid parking, flexible work schedules, and commuter bus operations, a portion of their traffic inducement charges is reduced. District offices that encourage such participation or actively engage in transportation demand management—through campaigns or rotation programs—will receive additional evaluation points.

At present, the Seoul Metropolitan Government enforces a five-day driving rotation system for employees and official vehicles using public institution parking lots. For citizens, the five-day rotation system for public and public-affiliated parking lots will be implemented in line with the government’s escalation of the resource security crisis alert to the “warning” level, at which point it will become mandatory for the private sector.

Jangkwon Yeo, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Transportation Bureau, stated, “With the recent rise in oil prices increasing the burden on citizens, these measures focus on promoting public transportation use and strengthening support for citizens’ mobility,” adding, “We will closely monitor changes in oil prices and continue our efforts to develop related support measures.”

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