Using the Subways and Buses
What method af transportation do you use? The subway and bus are often the transit of choice of those who are thrifty and who are not afraid to pound some pavement.
The subway and buses are environmentally friendly, good for your health, fast, and convenient to boot. Their greatest advantage, however, may be in the savings they provide in transportation costs.
Though the subway and bus can save you quite a number of pennies in themselves, there are ways you can get even sweeter savings out of this already sweet deal. Let us take a look.
Save on the Subway and Bus!
Using a Subway Commuter’s Pass
- The first way to be able to save up on your subway fare is by using a commuter’s pass.
· A commuter’s pass is a subway pass that you can use a set number of times in a given time period, and costs less than the same number of rides using a regular ticket. You might think of it as a reward for regulars in the form of lower rates. For someone who uses the subway every day, the hassle of getting this pass is worth it for the discount.
· However, a commuter’s pass is only usable through a separate rechargeable pass that costs KRW 2,500, and is not usable on buses.
<Subway Commuter’s Pass>
※ For more information on the subway commuter’s pass in Seoul, see the <
Seoul Metro> and <
Metro 9> sites. For other regions, see the homepage of the region’s metropolitan rapid transit authority.
Choosing Your Bus
- For those who often transit between Gyeonggi-do and Seoul, try choosing the cheaper buses of Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. Seoul and Gyeonggi-do have different payment schedules for public transportation. This boils down to Seoul buses offering cheaper rates for intercity routes and Gyeonggi-do for intracity routes. If you take only one bus to your destination, Seoul buses will only apply the basic rate while Gyeonggi-do buses will add KRW 100 for every 5 km after reaching 10 km, so a Seoul bus will cost you less if you take one bus for a distance of over 10 km.
- For instance, two intercity (red) buses, numbered 9401 and 9001, travel the route between Bundang, in Gyeonggi-do and Gwanghwa-mun, in Seoul. The two buses have very similar routes, but 9401 is a Seoul bus while 9001 is a Gyeonggi-do bus. The bus numbered 9401 is the cheaper of the two. Between two buses with similar routes that take you between Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, taking the Seoul bus will help you achieve your bottom line. You can tell which region a bus is from by the region marked on its license plate.
Using a Mass Transit Discount Credit Card
- There are a number of credit cards these days that offer discounts for transit costs. If you use a credit card, you can save more by taking a look at your pattern of public transportation use and choosing the credit card with a deal on transit costs that best suits your pattern.
