Seoul wrestles with fate of 3.64 million transit cards made obsolete by new pass

Kim, a 44-year-old resident of Gwangjin-gu, recently threw away the Climate Companion Card he had used for two years. A frequent commuter who found transportation costs a burden, Kim was among the first to sign up when Seoul introduced its flat-rate transit card in 2024. But when he learned the Seoul Metropolitan Government would discontinue the Climate Companion Card service in September and launch the new Climate Companion Pass — combining the city card with the central government's nationwide transit pass — he said goodbye to the old card. He later regretted tossing it when he heard the city was running a collection event for the soon-to-be-obsolete cards.

With the Climate Companion Pass set to launch Tuesday, the old Climate Companion Card will no longer be valid, leaving Seoul to figure out what to do with the millions of cards already in circulation. Data obtained by Seoul Assembly Member Kim Mi-ju of the Democratic Party of Korea from Tmoney, the card's issuer, show that 3,643,953 physical cards were sold from January 2024, when the service launched, through July this year. Sales peaked in the first year, with 1,350,806 cards sold in 2024, followed by 1,301,239 in 2025. In the first seven months of this year, 991,908 cards were sold. Monthly sales ranged from as few as 60,000 to more than 200,000.

Despite its popularity as a Seoul public transit policy, the Climate Companion Card will become unusable when the Climate Companion Pass takes over in September. Cards topped up through the end of August, however, can still be used until Sept. 29.

Seoul decided to transition from the Climate Companion Card to the Climate Companion Pass after the central government launched its own nationwide transit pass in January, aiming to give residents access to broader benefits. While the Climate Companion Card was a subscription pass valid only on Seoul's public transit network, the government's pass covers public transportation across the entire country. The Climate Companion Pass combines the nationwide coverage of the government pass with the city card's signature perks, such as an extended youth discount age range.

Seoul is encouraging residents to switch to the new Climate Companion Pass, which it says offers more benefits than the old card. Starting Tuesday, the city will run a swap event at 12 major stations across Seoul — including Seoul Station, City Hall Station and Jamsil Station — where commuters can exchange their old Climate Companion Card for the new pass at no extra charge. The old card costs 3,000 won to issue and the new pass 4,000 won, but the city is waiving the 1,000-won difference.

"We organized the event to encourage people to switch to the Climate Companion Pass, which offers better benefits, over the course of a month starting in September," a Seoul city official said. Users who have already switched to the government's nationwide pass can return their Climate Companion Card at a promotional booth and receive a convenience store coupon worth 2,000 won in exchange, the official added.

Seoul's promotional push appears to be working. The number of 30-day pass holders, which stood at 900,000 at the end of June, had fallen to roughly half that figure by the end of August, according to the city.

Meanwhile, Seoul is weighing how to handle the cards it collects. Not all 3.64 million cards sold to date will be returned, but the city plans to recycle a significant portion gathered through the collection event.

Manufacturing data released by Assembly Member Kim show that 1.55 million physical Climate Companion Cards were produced using PVC (polyvinyl chloride) between October 2023 and October 2024. From December 2024 onward, production shifted to RPVC — a material made from recycled PVC — with 2.61 million cards manufactured using the new material.

Seoul and Tmoney are currently exploring options such as repurposing collected cards as keychains or short-term cards for foreign visitors. "We are in internal discussions with Tmoney about how to recycle the collected Climate Companion Cards in an environmentally friendly way," a city official said. "As a Seoul public transit policy that has been widely loved by residents, we will make every effort to ensure the cards are repurposed in a meaningful way."