Busan is good

Increase in Child Passengers by Nearly Double After Free Public Transportation Policy! … 2nd Anniversary Celebration Event Held

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that child ridership has doubled in just two years since the introduction of the free public transportation fare policy for children.

In October 2023, Busan Metropolitan City became the first in the nation to abolish fares for children across all modes of public transportation, including metro, city buses, and village buses. This initiative was introduced as part of the “Public Transportation Use Promotion Policy,” enabling children—the future generation—to become familiar and comfortable with using public transportation, and encouraging them to continue doing so into adulthood.

During the 20 months prior to the policy’s implementation*, the number of child passengers was 12.8 million, which increased to 24 million in the equivalent period after implementation**, marking a near doubling of passengers within two years.

Category	Pre-policy (Jan 2022–Aug 2023)	Post-policy (Jan 2024–Aug 2025)
Total	12,845,577	24,033,458
Busan Metro	2,211,896	4,943,169
City Bus	8,361,227	15,237,544
Village Bus	2,272,454	3,852,745

*Jan 2022 – Aug 2023 
**Jan 2024 – Aug 2025 

To commemorate the 2nd anniversary of the free public transportation fare policy for children, Busan Metropolitan City will host the “Busan Children & Family Public Transportation Experience Day” for two days from September 26 to 27 at the Student Education and Culture Center Square in Busan Children’s Grand Park.

This event is organized as a family-participation festival, designed for children and their families to experience public transportation culture and learn about traffic safety together.

The opening ceremony will take place at 11:00 a.m. on September 26, attended by Mayor Park Heong-joon, the Chairperson of the Busan City Council Construction and Transportation Committee, the President of the Busan Bus Transport Business Association, and approximately 500 citizens.

Throughout the event, a variety of experiential programs will be available for children and families, including:

• ●“Catch! TiniPing” performance

• ●Children’s traffic safety puppet show

• ●Magic and bubble show

• ●TiniPing bus ride and traffic safety education

• ●Traffic safety sign keychain (key ring) making

• ●Paper bus craft

• ●Family caricature experience

In particular, two themed TiniPing buses (“TwinklePing” and “ShinePing”) will be showcased during the event. Afterward, three TiniPing buses (“TwinklePing,” “ShinePing,” and “HeartChuPing”) will be operated as actual city buses throughout October, offering children and citizens delightful attractions in the heart of the city.

• ●Route 506 “TwinklePing Bus”: Banyeo 4-dong – Dongnae Station – Busan Citizens Park

• ●Route 44 “ShinePing Bus”: Banyeo 3-dong – Busan Citizens Park – Dangam-dong

• ●Route 27 “HeartChuPing Bus”: Yongho-dong – Busan Station – Chungmu-dong

At the opening ceremony, Mayor Park Heong-joon will state:
“The doubling of child passengers on Busan’s public transportation in just two years is a very meaningful achievement. The free fare policy for children represents a significant step toward realizing the 15-Minute City and reflects our commitment to providing our children with a safe and convenient transportation environment.

Going forward, we will continue to strengthen the public transportation network to ensure that citizens can easily access schools, hospitals, parks, libraries, and cultural facilities near their homes, while fostering warm communities where neighbors enjoy a high quality of life together. At the same time, we will build a safe, pedestrian-friendly environment where walking is enjoyable.”