Gyeonggi Province Allows Children and Youth Transportation Fare Support to Be Reused as 'Transportation Fare Coupons'

On October 15, Gyeonggi Province launched the "Transportation Fare Coupon" service, which allows recipients of the "Children and Youth Transportation Fare Support Program" to load up to 240,000 won per year in local currency, reimbursed after transportation use, onto a standard transportation card. This marks the first time in the country that a local government has distributed policy allowances in the form of transportation fare support.

Gyeonggi Provincial Government Building. Courtesy of Gyeonggi Province

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Since May of last year, Gyeonggi Province has been implementing the "Children and Youth Transportation Fare Support Program" for children and teenagers aged 6 to 18 who are not eligible for the K-Pass program. The program reimburses public transportation expenses up to 240,000 won per year, with a quarterly limit of 60,000 won. As of the first half of 2025, the cumulative number of users has reached 690,000.

However, there were concerns that the reimbursed local currency could not be directly used for transportation fares. In response, the province developed a system that allows the transportation fare support provided in local currency to be converted into transportation fare via the "Gyeonggi Local Currency" app and then loaded onto a transportation card.

Seongnam and Siheung, which use the Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corporation system, are not included in this initiative. The province plans to consider expanding the program in the future through discussions with relevant agencies.

The process for children and youth transportation fare support consists of four stages: application for support, reimbursement of transportation fare, conversion to transportation fare, and card loading.

Applicants submit their requests online and receive reimbursement in local currency through quarterly settlements. They can then convert the reimbursed amount into transportation fare points via the Gyeonggi Local Currency app. By tapping a prepaid transportation card to a smartphone equipped with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, the loading process is completed. This is an optional service designed for user convenience, and participation is entirely at the discretion of the user.

For more details, inquiries can be made to the Gyeonggi Province Children and Youth Transportation Fare Support Program call center or by visiting the program's official website.

Gyeonggi Province expects that this new service will encourage greater use of public transportation among residents and enhance the practical benefits of the transportation fare support program. In particular, it is anticipated to boost public transportation usage among teenagers and help reduce household transportation expenses.

Yoon Taewan, Director of the Gyeonggi Province Metropolitan Transportation Policy Division, stated, "The transportation fare coupon service is an innovative support method introduced for the first time nationwide, and its key feature is enabling recipients to use the transportation fare support received in local currency as actual transportation fare. We will continue to expand transportation policies that are closely related to the everyday lives of our residents."

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