Anyang City Expands 'Cashless Bus' Service Starting the 25th

[Suwon Ilbo=Um In-yong Reporter] Anyang City announced on the 17th that starting the 25th, it will operate 226 buses on 21 city bus routes under public management as 'cashless buses' that accept only card payments.

The city piloted the 'cashless bus' service on routes 1 and 917 as Gyeonggi Province's first in March, and is expanding the service from the 25th after supplementing the shortcomings identified during the pilot period.

As card usage has become widespread and cash usage on city buses has decreased to 0.5-0.6%, the city plans to implement the cashless bus service to improve passenger convenience, enhance operational safety, and strengthen operational transparency.

In particular, with the elimination of the change-making process, bus operators can focus more on driving, and boarding and alighting times will be shortened, which is expected to improve on-time performance.

Additionally, for seniors aged 70 and older, the city will actively promote the 'Anyang City Senior Transportation Subsidy Program,' which is linked to and supported through transportation cards, providing up to 160,000 won in annual transportation subsidies while resolving inconveniences of using cashless buses.

Currently, approximately 33,000 seniors are receiving the Anyang City Senior Transportation Subsidy, which has been in operation since October 2023. The 21 routes operating as cashless buses are routes 1, 1-1, 20, 3, 33, 5, 5-2, 52-1, 55, 60, 60-1, 80, 81, 8-2, 87, 10, 11-2, 11-5, 15-1, 83, and 917.

Mayor Choi Dae-ho said, "We plan to gradually expand and apply the service to all routes by 2027 when the full implementation of the Gyeonggi-type quasi-public operation system begins," and added, "Since this is being promoted for safe and convenient public transportation use, we will do our best to establish the system by identifying areas for improvement."