You don’t have to recharge transportation expenses in advance… Discounts at convenience stores, coffee shops, etc.
“K Pass popularity will likely remain the same… If you use public transportation a lot, you will be satisfied with the Climate Companion Card.”
The Seoul Climate Companion Card, which only existed as a prepaid card, is now available as a postpaid card. Accordingly, competition with ‘K Pass’, which is in the spotlight as a way to save on transportation costs along with the Climate Companion Card, is expected to intensify.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 29th, the postpaid Climate Companion Card service combined with credit and check cards will begin on the 30th.
The Climate Companion Card is a project that Seoul City started last July. If you pay a certain amount in advance, you can use public transportation such as subways and buses unlimitedly. A 30-day ticket including Ttareungi is 65,000 won, and a 30-day pass without Ttareungi is 62,000 won. For young people aged 19 to 39, you can use it at a 7,000 won discount from the applicable price.
However, there were constant complaints about the inconvenience of paying in advance. The Postpaid Climate Companion Card is a card that improves these shortcomings. You do not need to recharge the postpaid Climate Companion Card in advance. You can select the card you want to use and register it on the T-money website.
If the public transportation fare used with the registered card exceeds a certain amount (e.g. 62,000 won for 30 days), the amount will be refunded. Additionally, if you meet the previous month’s usage records, you can enjoy discounts at coffee shops and convenience stores in your daily life.
Until now, the K Pass, created by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport last May, has been in the spotlight as the best way to save on transportation costs. K Pass accumulates a portion of the usage amount and refunds it when using public transportation more than 15 times a month. The savings rate is 20% for the general public, 30% for young people (ages 19 to 34), and 53% for low-income people.
In particular, there is no inconvenience of having to recharge the advance payment one by one, and there are many places where it can be used. The Climate Companion Card can only be used in Seoul, but the K Pass can also be used in other local governments, such as Gyeonggi-do.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport initially predicted the number of K Pass subscribers to be around 1.85 million, but it is already enjoying such popularity that the number exceeded 2 million in August.
Mr. A, a college student in his 20s, said, “K Pass will remain popular because of its diverse uses,” but also expected, “As the postpaid Climate Companion Card complements the shortcomings of existing prepaid cards, it will become a healthy competition for consumers.”
Mr. B, a job seeker in his 20s, said, “I am using the K Pass because I want to save on transportation costs that I occasionally use by receiving pocket money.” He added, “For people like me who do not use public transportation every day but want to save as much as possible on transportation expenses, the K Pass is perfect.” He said.
Mr. C, an office worker in his 30s, has already completed the pre-application for the postpaid Climate Companion Card. Mr. B said, “I commute to work every day in Seoul and use public transportation, so the Climate Companion Card is the best fit for me.”
He added, “By using the Climate Companion Card, I reduced my monthly transportation expenses from over 100,000 won to around 60,000 won,” adding, “I liked the postpaid card because I didn’t have to bother recharging it and it also gave me discounts.”
KPI News / Reporter Ha Yu-jin [email protected]
[저작권자ⓒ KPI뉴스. 무단전재-재배포 금지]
