Gyeonggi Province Expands 'Tagless' Contactless Bus Fare Payment Service

# Young-hee, a Suwon resident, no longer needs to hastily dig through her wallet to find a transit card when boarding or alighting from Gyeonggi Province public buses starting from the 21st of this month.

This is because a 'contactless bus fare payment service' has been implemented, where fares are automatically charged upon boarding and alighting is automatically processed upon exiting.

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province announced on the 18th that it will expand the contactless bus fare payment service, introduced to Gyeonggi Province public buses in January (Gimpo) and February (Uijeongbu, Yangju, and Pocheon), to public buses across all of Gyeonggi Province starting from March 21, excluding double-decker buses and dual-door vehicles.

This service was introduced by Gyeonggi Province to minimize concerns about COVID-19 transmission through public transportation, enhance convenience for bus passengers, and prevent in-vehicle accidents.

After installing the 'Tagless Pay App' on a smartphone and registering a pre-paid or post-paid transit card, passengers can automatically complete boarding and alighting procedures and payment when getting on and off the bus without making physical contact (tagging) with the card terminal.

The system works by using Bluetooth wireless communication between beacons installed in vehicles and passengers' smartphones to determine whether they are boarding or alighting.

Additionally, when passengers press the 'mobile stop button' on the app before alighting, a notification is displayed to the driver indicating there is a passenger getting off, eliminating the need to press the physical stop bell manually or stand up and move from one's seat.

To allow passengers to confirm whether the bus supports this service before boarding, Tagless stickers are affixed to the exterior of vehicles, and the Gyeonggi Bus Information App's location guidance service displays an icon indicating whether Tagless is supported.

When using or transferring to buses or subways that do not support the service, passengers can complete fare payment and receive transfer discounts in the conventional manner by tapping their smartphone screen against the card terminal.

Locomobility Inc., the service provider, will offer a promotional incentive of 3,000 won upon initial app installation and 1,000 won per ride (up to 20 rides per month) in transit card recharge from now until April 20.

For more details, check the 'Tagless Pay App,' and for other inquiries, contact Locomobility Inc.'s call center at 1644-0006.