Seoul may reimburse students for public transport fares by 2030
In Seoul, South Korea, the education office has proposed introducing reimbursement for public transport expenses by 2030 for middle and high school students who travel to school by bus or subway. The annual reimbursement could reach 160,000 won, The Korea Herald reports.
The initiative is proposed to be implemented in stages. In 2028, the program is planned to be tested for final-year high school students; in 2029, it would be expanded to all high school grades; and in 2030, middle school students would be included.
Who the program will cover
Reimbursement is envisaged only for students who use buses or the subway to get to school. Students at special schools, young people outside the education system, and elementary school students will not be eligible for the program.
According to the education office's estimate, about 164,000 Seoul middle and high school students travel to school by public transport — 42% of their total number. The current fare for one trip for teenagers in the city is 900 won. The reimbursement limit of 160,000 won roughly corresponds to the cost of one trip to school over about 190 school days.
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Some 33.9% of students use buses, another 2.3% use only the subway, and 5.7% combine buses and the subway. About 83% of students spend less than 30 minutes traveling to school; the average travel time is about 21 minutes.
Payment mechanism and funding
The education office is considering using existing transport platforms, including Tmoney and the Seoul transit pass, rather than creating a separate payment system. One option envisages reimbursement based on public transport usage data. Officials are also exploring the possibility of identifying trips to school by the time and day of travel.
The 2028 pilot is expected to cover 67,477 final-year high school students. In 2029, the program would be expanded to 192,103 students across all high school grades, and in 2030 to 355,902 middle and high school students. These figures reflect the number of students in the respective groups, rather than necessarily the number of reimbursement recipients.
The cost of the program is estimated at 8.1 billion won in 2028, 23.1 billion won in 2029, and 29.3 billion won in the first half of 2030. The total projected amount through June 2030 is 60.4 billion won, although funding has not yet been approved.
