Through a transportation support program carried out by Gangnam District for seniors, adolescents, and children, 35,000 people received benefits amounting to about 10,000 won per month.
Gangnam District announced on the 26th that it paid a total of 683 million won in transportation costs to 35,268 residents on 20th. Each person saved an average of 9,720 won in transportation costs per month.
This program refunds transportation costs for residents registered in Gangnam District who are seniors aged 65 or older, and children and adolescents aged 6 to 18, when they use Seoul city and village buses. Gangnam District set up the system in August and began accepting membership registrations from September. As of the end of November, 48,489 people had completed registration.
The maximum quarterly support amount is 60,000 won for seniors, 40,000 won for adolescents, and 20,000 won for children. Annually, it amounts to 240,000 won for seniors, 160,000 won for adolescents, and 80,000 won for children.
The amount paid this time is a refund for transportation costs for October to November. Considering the two-month period, the payment was limited to 40,000 won for seniors, 26,000 won for adolescents, and 13,000 won for children.
Gangnam District accepted applications for support from the 1st to the 10th, and deposited the amount into the applicants' accounts after settling transportation card usage records. The next payment is scheduled for March next year. Applications for the usage from December to February will be accepted in early March and payments will be made by the end of that month.
After the implementation of the transportation support program, the monthly public transportation usage in Gangnam District increased by 5.5% compared to the same period last year. District Head Cho Sung-myeong noted, "We can expect not only to reduce the transportation cost burden for transportation-disadvantaged individuals but also to promote the use of public transportation and ease traffic congestion."