Delays to Seoul's upgraded transit pass leave Ttareungi riders paying more

Riders who added Seoul's public bicycle service Ttareungi to their Climate Card transit pass will have to pay more for now, as delays to the city's planned upgraded card have left them without the discount they previously enjoyed.

The Climate Card Plus, originally set to launch July 1, has been held up because the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Metropolitan Area Transportation Committee has not granted approval. The current Climate Card service ends Aug. 31, meaning riders will lose their existing benefits before the new card becomes available. The Climate Card Plus is designed to combine the benefits of the existing Climate Card with those of the government's Modoo Card.

The most immediate impact is on the Ttareungi two-hour ride pass discount. Riders who want to keep using Ttareungi as before will have to pay an extra 4,000 won per month for now, in effect penalizing those who had added the bicycle option to their Climate Card. Ttareungi has become one of Seoul residents' primary ways of getting around, and the number of people combining it with subway and bus trips through the Climate Card has grown since the pass launched.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the number of Climate Card top-ups that included the Ttareungi add-on rose from 358,699 in 2024 to 362,226 last year. Ttareungi rentals through the Climate Card also increased, from about 3.08 million trips in 2024 to about 3.14 million last year.

The Climate Card was piloted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in January 2024 and officially launched that July. At the standard rate of 62,000 won ($42) a month, it offers unlimited use of public transit for 30 days. For an extra 3,000 won, subscribers can add a monthly Ttareungi pass covering two-hour rides. The pass allows riders to borrow a bike for two hours at a time, return it and borrow again, with no limit on the number of trips in a day. Buying a Ttareungi pass separately costs 7,000 won a month for the same two-hour daily access. Other pass options include a seven-day pass (4,000 won), a six-month pass (20,000 won) and a 12-month pass (40,000 won). Adding Ttareungi to the Climate Card works out cheaper than any of those standalone options.

The disruption extends beyond Ttareungi. A gap in youth discount benefits will also open up. The Climate Card's youth discount of 7,000 won applies to those aged 19 to 39, a broader range than the Modoo Card, which covers only those aged 19 to 34. Until the Climate Card Plus launches, riders aged 35 to 39 will have to pay 7,000 won more per month.

Sources inside and outside both agencies say the delay reflects a turf battle between the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's metropolitan committee and the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The committee launched the Modoo Card in January, offering unlimited travel on Greater Seoul public transit for 62,000 won a month. Seoul contends that the Modoo Card was modeled on the Climate Card, which is widely regarded as one of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's signature achievements. The committee, however, views the Climate Card as simply one of several regional transit passes.

The dispute became public when Seoul formalized its plans for the Climate Card Plus. After the city held a briefing on June 17 announcing it would launch "a Climate Card Plus integrating the Climate Card and the Modoo Card," the committee rebuffed the claim, saying it was "not true at all."

Seoul says it briefed the committee on the Climate Card Plus concept during working-level consultations and informed it of plans to announce the service. The committee acknowledged that consultations had taken place but argued that Seoul "unilaterally distributed a press release without thorough review, despite many factors still requiring consideration, including budget and system verification."

The committee estimates that preparations for the Climate Card Plus will take an additional three to six months, putting the launch at the earliest in the fourth quarter of this year and at the latest by year's end. Seoul had previously warned that "if consultations with the committee are delayed, citizens will be unable to use the specialized services of the Climate Card Plus, making swift progress necessary."