Seoul s latest transport policy of removing fare collection boxes and expanding cashless payment methods on a quarter of the city s buses has faced a backlash as people without access to electronic banking services and the elderly are feared to fall victim to the automated fare collection system. Starting in March, 1,876 city buses on 108 routes, or 25 percent of the total, only allow passengers to pay by card or app following a five-month trial run on 171 buses serving eight routes.
Around 5 p.m., Tuesday, when the waiting crowd was busy trying to squeeze into the subway train at Ewha Womans University Station on Seoul Metro Line 2, a 73-year-old senior citizen who asked to be identified only by her first name Hang-soon stood up from a bench and pushed her mini handcart onto the train.