Seoul Bus Colors Explained: Blue, Green, Yellow and Red Fares

Seoul buses are color coded by route type, and the color sets the fare: blue and green buses cost an adult 1,500 won with a transit card, yellow circulation buses 1,400 won, and red rapid buses 3,000 won. Both figures come from the Seoul Metropolitan Government's English bus page and the Visit Seoul tourism site, which agree on the numbers shown below.

One caution on dates: the city page labels its fare table "as of 3 AM on Sat, Aug. 12, 2023," so check the fare shown on the bus reader if you are reading much later.

1. What each color means

The city page says Seoul's bus routes are classified into five types according to their operational characteristics:

Visit Seoul describes the same system from a traveler's side: blue buses connect districts along main routes, green buses connect subway stations and main blue routes with residential areas, smaller green "maeul" (local) buses run shorter routes inside a district, yellow buses circle the city center, and red buses link the city with surrounding areas. It adds that English signs at stops are limited, so first-time travelers may find buses harder than the subway, although major stops are usually announced in English and Korean.

Route numbers also carry information. The city page says buses are given a 2 to 4-digit number classified by departure and destination, but the number key itself is shown only as an image, so this post does not decode it.

2. Fares by color

These are adult, teen and child fares in won from the Visit Seoul table, with the card price first and the cash price second. The city page's "new" column matches these figures.

Adult means ages 19 and over, teen 12 to 18, and child 6 to 12, according to the city page. Visit Seoul gives slightly different cut-offs for the registered discount (children 6 to 13, youths 13 to 18), so if you travel with young people, confirm at the time of registration.

The city page also lists a 20% early-morning discount for card users before 6:30 AM, excluding the late-night bus. That is 1,200 won for an adult on a blue or green bus. Visit Seoul words it differently ("boarding for the first time after 6:30 AM"), so the two pages conflict on the timing; the city page's "before 6:30 AM" is the one used here. Visit Seoul also notes a 100 won discount for Tmoney users. Children under 6 ride free when accompanied by a guardian, up to three per adult; more than three, or a child alone, pay the child fare.

3. How bus transfers work

The city page says to tap your card when you get off, and Visit Seoul says the same for Tmoney transfers. The city page lists these transfer rules:

• Board the next vehicle within 30 minutes of getting off, or within 60 minutes from 9 PM to 7 AM the next day.
• Transfers are accepted up to 4 times, which makes 5 boardings.
• Same-vehicle and same-route transfers are not applied, and boarding the same vehicle again is charged again.
• The higher base fare among the modes you used applies, plus 100 won for every 5 km beyond the 10 km base distance.
• With several passengers, a transfer discount applies only if the boarding and get-off locations and the number of passengers are the same, and subway transfers are not allowed for those groups.

The transfer rules on both pages are written for card users. For how those rules work with the subway fare, see the post on the T-money card and Seoul public transport basics, which covers the cards, where to buy them and how to top them up.

4. Paying on the bus

The city page lists three ways to pay: a prepaid transportation card (Tmoney, Cashbee and others, sold at convenience stores), a credit or debit card, or cash. Visit Seoul notes that some buses are cashless, so check before boarding. Its list of recharge spots includes convenience stores, subway stations, bank ATMs and the Tmoney Pay app.