Busan is good

Dongbaek Pass Surpasses 850,000 Subscribers as of March 2026: Unlimited Public Transportation in Busan Available for KRW 45,000 per Month Starting April 1

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Busan Metropolitan City announced that starting today (April 1), it has improved the integration method between the government’s K-Pass (Everyone’s Card) and the Dongbaek Pass, enabling unlimited use of Busan’s public transportation for KRW 45,000 per month.

Following the announcement in March regarding the improved integration between Dongbaek Pass and K-Pass, the city completed the system upgrade within a month. As of today, the improved integration method is applied to public transportation usage in Busan.

Users who subscribe to both Dongbaek Pass and K-Pass and use public transportation will automatically receive refund benefits based on their usage amount. Existing Dongbaek Pass users can continue using their current card without the need to issue an additional card.

Since its launch in August 2023 as the first of its kind nationwide, Dongbaek Pass has continuously expanded its user-centered services and has played a substantial role in increasing the public transportation modal share.

Prior to the implementation of Dongbaek Pass, the public transportation modal share in 2022 stood at 42.2%. Following its introduction, the share has steadily increased, reaching 45.0% in 2025, representing a 2.8 percentage point rise.

After reaching a peak of 44.3% in 2019 following the implementation of the semi-public bus operation system in 2007, the public transportation modal share has recorded all-time highs for three consecutive years since the first introduction of Dongbaek Pass in 2023.

It is assessed that the increase in public transportation modal share has been significantly supported by policies implemented alongside Dongbaek Pass, including: the first among metropolitan cities to provide free public transportation fares for children; the introduction of demand-responsive transport “Tabara” in Gijang and Gangseo; big data-based adjustments to city bus routes centered on Gijang and Gangseo; and the enhancement of public transportation environments through smart shelters and the deployment of electric and hydrogen buses.

The number of Dongbaek Pass subscribers has also steadily increased. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, more than 60,000 new users joined, bringing the total number of subscribers to 853,000 as of March. The number of users subscribed to both Dongbaek Pass and K-Pass has nearly doubled, rising from 111,000 in December 2024 to 219,000 as of March 2026.

Meanwhile, Busan Metropolitan City plans to implement additional policies with the goal of reaching one million Dongbaek Pass subscribers. These include the introduction of a contactless “tagless” system that allows passengers to use public transportation without tapping a card on terminals, as well as an integrated mobility service, MaaS (Mobility as a Service), which enables route and mode search, reservation, and payment in a single platform.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “The continuous upgrades of Dongbaek Pass and the ongoing promotion of various policies to encourage public transportation use appear to have led to a steady increase in the public transportation modal share. We will not stop here and will continue to prepare diverse policies that reduce the burden on citizens and make public transportation more convenient to use.”