Three weeks ago， leading up to the APEC Leaders′ Summit， transport ministers of
the 21－member economies agreed to support a task force to explore the benefits and challenges
of APEC－wide Transport Cards. That... following President Park′s proposal
to introduce a transportation card... similar to that of Korea′s ″One Card All Pass″
system... that could be used anywhere in the APEC member economies.
Here′s Arirang News′ Lee Soo－eun.
″What I′m holding in this hand is a prepaid public transportation card... while this one
here is an ordinary credit card. And with either one of them， you can ride on any
bus， take the subway， and even pay for a taxi ride anywhere in the country.″
Over 90－percent of Koreans use smart transportation cards like T－Money and Cashbee Cards.
These cards have become an indispensable part of daily life.
″The transfer system has made it possible for me to ride on a bus and transfer onto
any subway line with just one payment.″
″Before， Seoul transportation cards were limited to Seoul only. But now， you can
use the cards in different regions too.″ Transportation cards have become must－have
items for foreign tourists as well. We went to Myeong－dong in downtown Seoul
to ask how they′re liking it.
″Really convenient. Because you can use it in a taxi， in the bus， and metro. Basically
everywhere.″
″It′s perfect. This is the first time today. And it′s quite easy to go in and
out of the subway station without having to know which ticket to buy before.″
Just a simple tap on the machine’s sensor pad with the card， will let you pay automatically.
Then， the machine saves your location and time on the database... letting you transfer
for free as long as you transfer within 30 minutes while traveling within 10 kilometers.
You can even use it to buy things in stores， markets， and vending machines... as long
as they are equipped with the transit card readers.
What’s more， transportation cards can be registered in an Android smartphone or
smart watch， making it even easier and faster
to pay for fees. On top of making everyday life easier， smart
cards are seen as a driving force behind the development of Korea′s transportation system.
″Through compiling Big Data with the smart card system， operators can analyze various
traffic patterns such as how and where people move around the most. This contributes to
a more effective management of bus and subway schedules.″
Last year in June... the Ministry of Land， Infrastructure and Transport launched the
so－called One Card， All Pass， a new transportation card that can be used in ANY
region of the country... as opposed to just around Seoul or just in Busan.
Since its launch， the number of users has been on the rise， with more than 4 million
cards sold in just the month of December last year and usage amounted to over 24 million...
a 2－hundred 15 percent spike since July of that year.
But it wasn′t all so