Seoul City Increases Convenience for Seniors with Mobile Transportation Card Introduction

Seoul City will begin a mobile transportation card service for seniors aged 65 and over as early as the second half of this year. This initiative aims to alleviate the inconvenience of carrying physical cards and to prevent fraudulent use of free rides.

According to Seoul City's announcement on the 25th, the new 'Mobile Senior Transportation Card' can be issued and used through a mobile application registered in the individual's name.

Any senior citizen aged 65 or older residing in Seoul can apply for the service, and as of March this year, the number of eligible seniors living in Seoul reached 1.81 million.

Advantages and Usage of the Mobile Transportation Card

This service will initially be available to Android smartphone users, allowing applicants to choose between a physical card and a mobile card.

The greatest advantage of the mobile card is that it can be used immediately without a separate reissue fee in case of loss or damage. A reissue fee of 3,000 won was applied to existing physical cards.

To prevent duplicate benefits, the system was designed so that if a physical card or other free ride cards such as disability or veteran welfare cards are issued, the mobile card will be automatically deactivated. This is expected to enhance the efficiency of card issuance and management while contributing to the prevention of fraudulent use.

Currently, Seoul issues preferential transportation cards to seniors aged 65 and older, people with disabilities, and veterans under Article 26 of the Elderly Welfare Act. Cardholders can use the metropolitan area subway for free.

When the card is tapped on the gate terminal, a message such as "Be Happy" is displayed, unlike a standard card.

Expectations for Supplementing the Free Ride System and Alleviating Financial Burden

The introduction of the mobile transportation card is expected to help complement the free ride system, which is a major cause of deficits in the Seoul subway system.

According to Seoul Transportation Corporation, the number of free ride users on subway lines 1-8 last year reached 274,824,000, accounting for 17.2% of total ridership.

The proportion of free rides was 84.6% for seniors, 14.5% for people with disabilities, and 0.9% for veterans.

Notably, the loss from free rides reached 413.5 billion won last year, which accounts for 57% of the total loss of 724.1 billion won incurred by Seoul Transportation Corporation.

By storing the card on mobile devices, the principle of "one person, one card" will be encouraged, thereby reducing fraudulent use, such as transferring cards to children.

A Seoul City official stated, "The introduction of the mobile card is expected to reduce fraudulent use by preventing physical cards from being transferred to family members or others."

Image source: News1