On a Seoul city bus you tap your card twice: once when you get on and once before you get off. The second tap, the tap off, tells the fare system where your ride ended, so it can add any distance charge and give you a transfer discount on your next ride.[1] It can seem odd, because a ride on a single city bus costs the same whatever the distance. This guide covers the steps on board, why the system wants that second tap, and what it costs you to skip it.
We read the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s bus, transfer and fare pages in English and Korean on October 25, 2026 (how we research).
How to pay: on at the front, off at the back
Seoul buses are boarded through the front door and left through the back door.[3] Here’s the order:
- Board at the front and tap your transit card on the reader next to the driver. A beep means the fare has been paid.[3]
- When the display or announcement shows your stop is next, press the stop bell before the bus arrives.[3]
- Tap your card again on the reader by the back door, then get off through that door.[3]
The fare for a ride on one bus is flat.[1][4] Adults pay KRW 1,500 (about US$1.10) on blue (trunk) and green (branch) buses, by card or in cash.[4] Rapid red buses cost KRW 3,000 (about US$2.20), and green local buses (maeul buses), which run short neighborhood routes, cost KRW 1,200 (about US$0.89).[3][4] If you need a card first, our transit card guide compares the options and explains how much to load.
Why the bus wants a second tap
Seoul’s buses and subway, along with buses in Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, share one fare system for the whole capital region. On a trip that combines more than one ride, you pay by distance, not by the number of vehicles.[1] For adults, a transfer trip costs the higher of the base fares involved for the first 10 km (30 km when a red rapid bus is part of the trip), plus KRW 100 (about US$0.07) for every 5 km beyond that.[1][4]
For that to work, the system has to know where each ride ends. The city’s rules say you tap on and off every time so the distance surcharge can be worked out.[1] The exit tap also starts the clock for your transfer: you get the discount if you board the next bus or train within 30 minutes of tapping off. From 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., you have 60 minutes, and the city goes by the time you board the next ride.[1][2]
In other words, the reader by the back door isn’t asking you to pay twice. It closes your ride, so your next one can be charged as part of the same trip.
What you lose if you skip the exit tap
| Step | What you do | What the system does | If you skip it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Getting on | Tap at the front reader | Charges the base fare[1][3] | You haven’t paid for the ride |
| Getting off | Tap at the back reader | Ends the ride and starts the 30-minute transfer window[1][3] | The transfer chain breaks at this ride[1] |
| Next bus or train | Tap on within 30 minutes (60 at night) | Charges only the difference and any distance surcharge[1][4] | Charged as a separate trip, plus any base fare left unpaid on the ride you didn’t tap off[1] |
Here’s a short example, using the city’s fares and our own arithmetic. You ride a blue bus (KRW 1,500 (about US$1.10)), then switch to the subway, and the whole trip is under 10 km. Tap off the bus, and the trip costs the higher base fare, the subway’s KRW 1,550 (about US$1.10).[1][4] Forget to tap off, and the subway ride counts as a new trip: KRW 1,500 (about US$1.10) + KRW 1,550 (about US$1.10) = KRW 3,050 (about US$2.30).
The transfer discount covers up to four transfers, or five rides in a row. It doesn’t apply if you get back on the same route or the same bus; that counts as a new ride at the full base fare.[1][2]
Cash, extra cards and other snags
Cash costs the same as a card on blue and green buses, but the transfer discount applies only when you pay with a transit card.[4][5] Some routes don’t take cash at all. The city publishes a list of these cashless routes, last updated for January 2026.[6] A card is the safer choice.
The discount works when each person uses their own card.[1] Seoul notes that using two or more transit payment apps can cause double charges or transfer errors.[3] Have just one card or app ready before you reach the reader.
If you board your first ride before 6:30 a.m. and pay by card, you get 20% off that ride’s base fare. Any extra you pay when you transfer is worked out from regular fares, and late-night owl buses are excluded.[4][5]
Seoul’s English page also lists credit and debit cards with a deferred-payment transit function as a way to pay.[4] It doesn’t say whether cards issued abroad work, so keep a stored-value card such as Tmoney in your pocket.
If you’re coming in from Incheon Airport by train, our AREX guide explains the express and all-stop options.
Good to know
Before your first bus ride:
- Load your transit card, since some routes don’t take cash.[6]
- Board at the front and tap the reader by the driver.[3]
- Press the stop bell before your stop.[3]
- Tap the reader by the back door before you step off.[1][3]
Fares and rules can change. Check the city’s transfer discount page (in Korean) before you go.
More for your first days is in Arriving in Seoul. To see how we’re paid, read how we’re funded.
