Anseong City Achieves Remarkable Progress in Free Public Transportation Support Program

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park Chan-hyuk] Anseong City's Free Public Transportation Support Program, which has been promoting reduced transportation costs and increased public transit usage among seniors and low-income residents, is demonstrating remarkable achievements.

According to the city on the 25th, the free public transportation support initiative, which began with the launch of the Free Public Transportation Support Program for Seniors in April 2023 and expanded to include low-income residents starting March of last year, has proven its success through significantly increased card issuance numbers and bus usage records.

As of the end of December last year, the Free Public Transportation Support Program for Seniors recorded cumulative card issuances of 22,076 with an enrollment rate of 54%, demonstrating 2.09 million bus usage instances annually. This translates to an average monthly usage of 12,799 people, with approximately 17,000 won in transportation costs supported per person.

Additionally, the Free Public Transportation Support Program for Low-Income Residents achieved an enrollment rate of 15.5% and approximately 58,000 usage instances.

This is evaluated as generating positive social changes throughout the city, including reducing transportation costs for seniors and low-income residents, promoting public transit usage, and achieving carbon neutrality effects through decreased private vehicle usage.

The core focus of Anseong City's Free Public Transportation Support Program is to guarantee mobility rights to residents who, uniquely within the Seoul metropolitan area, lack any railway infrastructure and depend entirely on bus transportation for public transit, thereby improving quality of life. The city is implementing the program in phases to expand eligible beneficiaries and coverage scope so that all residents can eventually use public transportation free of charge.

Additionally, beginning in July, the city plans to introduce a new measure of providing support through local currency to low-income residents who own garnishment-proof accounts or are unable to receive transportation subsidies due to difficulty with bank transfers. Through this initiative, the city aims to expand support coverage to enable more residents to use public transportation free of charge.

A city official stated, "We are implementing the Universal Free Public Transportation Support Program in phases to promote sustainable urban development through public transit advancement, enhance citizen welfare, reduce carbon emissions in the transportation sector, and lower traffic congestion and energy/environmental costs," adding "We will do our best to enable residents to use public transportation more conveniently."