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Busan Metropolitan City to Pilot Tagless Public Transportation Payment System in Haeundae and Gijang

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it will pilot the “Tagless Public Transportation Payment System” centered on Haeundae-gu and Gijang-gun to create a citizen-centered smart transportation environment.

*Bus: 360 vehicles from six bus companies (Buil, Busan, Seik, Ilgwang, Haedong, and Osiria demand-responsive transport (DRT)); Urban rail: three flap gates at Haeundae Station and one at Jangsan Station

The “tagless payment system” automatically recognizes boarding and alighting and processes fares without requiring passengers to tap their transit cards on terminals when using buses or urban rail. Users can simply carry a registered transit card or use a smartphone app when boarding, and payment will be completed without any additional action, such as tapping. This is expected to reduce boarding and alighting delays during peak hours and significantly improve user convenience.

This pilot project will be carried out primarily in the Haeundae and Gijang areas, which have high tourist traffic and floating populations. These areas are considered suitable for verifying the effectiveness of the new payment system due to their high demand for public transportation and large number of visitors.

In particular, the introduction of the tagless payment system will be implemented without separate budget allocation from the city. In accordance with the agreement signed in February last year for the construction and operation of the transportation card system, the transportation card settlement company Mybi Co., Ltd. will fully cover the project costs.

Through the pilot implementation, the city plans to analyze various effects, including improved boarding and alighting convenience, enhanced precision of transportation usage data, and verification of new contactless payment technologies.

The pilot operation will begin on April 3, and to expand usage and verify effectiveness, the transportation card company (Mybi) plans to recruit and operate a citizen experience group.

To use the tagless payment system, users must install the Tagless Pay smartphone application (available only on Android via the Google Store), register either a prepaid balance or a postpaid transit card, and then use the service. On buses or at urban rail stations where tagless is not installed, users can continue to use the existing tap method.

After comprehensively reviewing user satisfaction, operational performance, and the level of tagless technology, the system is planned to be gradually expanded by 2028 to all buses, community bus routes, and all urban rail stations across Busan.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “The tagless payment system will be an important turning point in reducing inconveniences in citizens’ daily lives and advancing toward a smarter city,” adding, “Through the pilot project, we will enhance the convenience and speed of the payment system, further improve services, and expand benefits so that citizens can use public transportation more conveniently.”