How to ride a Seoul bus: stop, direction and card taps
Find the right stop and direction, tap your transit card at the front door, and follow your progress to your stop. Knowing when to press the stop button, tap off, and make your next connection helps you use Seoul buses with less confusion.
How to ride a Seoul bus: stop, direction and card taps
When taking a bus in Seoul, start by finding the stop for your direction of travel. Buses with the same route number can travel in opposite directions from stops on either side of the street. Match the stop name and direction in your map app or on the information at the stop, then check the route number on the front of the arriving bus.[1][2]
Bus colors and the N prefix
Blue buses run on major trunk routes, green buses serve branch and neighborhood routes linking local areas with subway stations, yellow buses run circular routes, and red buses connect Seoul with the surrounding metropolitan region. The color helps you recognize the type of service; use the route number and direction to choose a bus for your destination.[1]
A green branch-route bus.
Stop displays and apps also show approaching buses. A route number beginning with N identifies a night bus.[1][2]
A blue trunk-route bus with its route number displayed on the front.
Board at the front and keep track of your stop
Most city buses use the front door for boarding. Tap a transit card such as Tmoney on the reader. Many buses do not accept cash, although some still do.[3] Giving each person their own card avoids the complications of paying for several passengers at once and working out their transfer eligibility.[2] If you do not have a card yet, see the first-day Tmoney guide.
The A160 early-morning autonomous bus.
Stop buttons and card readers are in different places on different vehicles. Follow your progress in an app or listen to the onboard announcements. Usually, you should press the stop button one stop before yours. Once the bus has stopped, move safely to the rear door and tap your card again as you get off. A standalone ride on a Seoul city or neighborhood bus has a flat fare, but tapping off is necessary for a transfer discount on your next bus or subway ride. Transfers and journeys involving other areas or modes of transport may incur distance-based additional fares.[1]
The interior of a city bus.
Transfer windows and limits
Use the same transit card when boarding your next bus or entering the subway. The transfer window is 30 minutes after you tap off. If you board the next service between 21:00 and 07:00 the following morning, you have up to 60 minutes to transfer. The discount applies to a maximum of four transfers, or five rides in total.[1] Reboarding the same vehicle or the same route, and paying in cash, are excluded from transfer discounts. Traveling beyond the basic distance may incur an additional fare.[1][2]
Airport limousine buses can have different ticketing and boarding arrangements from ordinary city buses. For departures from the airport, see choosing transport from Incheon Airport to Seoul and the airport limousine bus guide. Before traveling, consult Seoul's latest guidance on fares, operating arrangements, and transfer conditions.
Photo credits
• The four colors of Seoul buses (cover) — Minseong Kim, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Green branch-route bus 5522A — Striker9498, Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
• Blue trunk-route bus 506 — Striker9498, Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
• A160 early-morning autonomous bus — Trainholic, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Hyundai BlueCity bus interior — 충북선 무궁화호, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Some photographs have been resized for web publication. Use and modification of each photograph are subject to the license terms of its original.
Sources
• [3] Cashless bus routes — Seoul’s official list
• [1] Seoul bus fares and transfer discounts — Official guidance 1, Official guidance 2
• [2] Using Seoul buses and night buses — Official guidance 1, Official guidance 2