Cho Kuk, leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, on the 29th said, "I propose including a program to support 'temporary free public transit during commuting hours' in this extra budget."
Mentioning the government's ongoing "odd-even restrictions for passenger cars" on her Facebook page that day, Cho said the structure of the government's measures "must break away from concentrating on private car users," and stated accordingly.
Cho said, "Right now, Korea's public transit policy tends to focus only on getting car users to switch to electric or hydrogen vehicles," and added, "In the long term, through bold public transit policies, we must not only reduce the total mileage of internal combustion engine vehicles but also achieve an energy transition and a climate economy together."
She continued, "First, by implementing 'temporary free public transit during commuting hours,' we need to meaningfully reduce people's transportation costs and induce private car users to take public transit," adding, "It also carries the meaning of creating a framework for nationwide solidarity to overcome the crisis."
She said, "Germany, amid the Ukraine-Russia war crisis in 2022, introduced a time-limited unlimited public transit pass, the '€9 Ticket,' which allowed the use of public transit for €9 (about 13,000 won) per month," adding, "With just three months of implementation, public transit ridership increased 25%, and the inflation rate fell by 0.7 percentage points."
Cho emphasized, "I hope this extra budget will be filled with bold measures that not only address the immediate crisis but also protect the future," adding, "The Rebuilding Korea Party will present the details specifically during the National Assembly discussions."