Everyone’s Card Commuting Incentive Extended Through Year-End... Half-Price Benefit Ends This Month

Up to 83.3% Refund for Commuters This Year
Benefits Extended to Next Year, Included in 2027 Budget Plan

The government has announced that it will extend the "commuting off-peak incentive," which increases the refund rate for those using public transportation outside the rush hours for commuting, through the end of the year.

The Metropolitan Transport Commission under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated on September 28 that the Everyone’s Card commuting off-peak incentive program will be extended and operated until December this year.

In May, citizens participated in quizzes and games at the Modoo Card promotion booth set up in the Seoul Station concourse. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The commuting off-peak incentive provides an additional 30 percentage points on top of the standard fixed-rate refund rate for public transportation usage during the following periods: 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Through this year’s supplementary budget, the government cut the minimum threshold for the fixed amount refund under the Everyone’s Card program by 50% and implemented an additional 30 percentage point refund incentive for using public transportation before and after peak commuting hours. As a result, Everyone’s Card users have been refunded approximately 60% of their public transportation expenses. When using public transportation during the designated off-peak periods, refunds have reached as high as 83.3% of the transportation costs.

The average monthly refund per person was 41,300 won, nearly double the previous figure of 20,700 won before the supplementary budget benefits were expanded. Compared to the average monthly refund of 16,500 won a year earlier, this represents an increase of about 2.5 times. The average number of monthly beneficiaries also grew from 2.83 million to 3.46 million following the supplementary budget, a rise of 630,000 people (22.3%).

The government plans to maintain the commuting off-peak incentive at the same level next year. The relevant budget has also been included in the government’s 2027 budget proposal.

The "half-price Everyone’s Card" benefit, which lowered the fixed refund threshold by 50%, will apply to usage made only through the end of this month.

The Metropolitan Transport Commission, Korea Transportation Safety Authority, and the sponsoring card companies plan to provide information about any changes through the Everyone’s Card website and application to minimize confusion during the transition period.

Yongseok Kim, Chairman of the Metropolitan Transport Commission, stated, "The supplementary Everyone’s Card benefit implemented over the past six months has helped to ease the public's transportation expenses and encourage public transportation use during a period of high fuel prices. We will continue to seek measures to further reduce the public's transportation costs and promote the active use of public transportation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.