Senior citizens' groups have voiced opposition to a plan under review by the Seoul city government to raise the age of eligibility for free subway rides.
Thirteen organizations in the field of senior welfare, including the Nohu Hope Union, the preparatory committee for the retirees' branch of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union, and the National Senior Workers' Union, held a press conference in front of Seoul City Hall on the 25th, demanding that the city "halt discussions on raising the free subway age to 70 and instead develop a new solution for seniors' transport welfare."
Seoul recently launched the Seoul Senior Transport Welfare Committee to review the city's transport welfare system for older adults, and it is discussing a plan to raise the free subway age to 70 and over while subsidizing bus fares in return.
The current free urban rail system, which lets people aged 65 and over ride the subway at no charge, was introduced in 1984. But as the population aged 65 and over has grown, the free-ride losses at Seoul Metro have surged from 50.4 billion won in 2000 to 483.3 billion won last year, prompting the proposal to raise the eligibility age.
Participants at the press conference criticized the move as "making seniors share senior welfare among themselves." Heo Young-gu, co-representative of the preparatory committee for the retirees' branch of the Public Service and Transport Workers' Union, said, "They say that in place of raising the free-ride age to 70, they will subsidize a limited number of bus rides, but an increase in seniors' transport costs is unavoidable."
Heo stressed that "for older adults who work short, unstable hours, and for those who wander the streets to find meals or escape the heat, riding the subway for free is a matter of survival."
The groups called for a range of alternatives to be reviewed, taking into account seniors' income, economic activity and the times of day they use public transport, before any across-the-board increase in the free-ride age.
Meanwhile, about eight in 10 Seoul residents believe the free transport system for older adults needs to be overhauled. In a survey of 2,000 Seoul residents conducted this month by the Seoul Institute, 77.0% supported redesigning the transport welfare system for seniors, with 52% "generally in favor" and 25% "strongly in favor," while 23% were opposed.
