The Metropolitan Transport Commission of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 30th that users of the public transportation support program "K-Pass," aimed at reducing the public's transportation costs, surpassed 4 million 17 months after its launch.
K-Pass is a transportation cost refund program that returns a portion of expenditure for up to 60 rides if a user takes public transportation 15 times or more in a month, with the goal of easing transportation cost burdens and boosting public transit use. Refund rates are 20% for the general public, 30% for youth, 30–50% for multi-child families, and 53.3% for low-income groups.
The government added multi-child households as a new support category this year and plans to apply a 30% refund benefit to seniors aged 65 and older starting next year. It will also newly introduce a flat-rate "unlimited pass" system to reduce the burden on citizens with high usage.
To mark K-Pass surpassing 4 million cumulative users, the commission will hold various events starting on the 31st. It will offer prizes to newly enrolled users next year and high-frequency users, and will solicit service improvement ideas through a user proposal event. Selected contributors will receive small prizes.
In addition, the name of the "unlimited flat-rate pass," scheduled for release next year, will be decided through a public contest. The contest will be open from the 31st to Nov. 10 on the websites of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), the commission, K-Pass, and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority.
Chairperson Kim Yong-seok of the commission said, "The public transportation K-Pass has established itself as a representative livelihood policy that people can feel in just a year and a half since the project began," adding, "Next year, we will significantly expand the benefits and work actively to reflect voices from the field in the system."