Seoul City Buses for Foreigners: Fares, Tapping Off, Card Reader Errors and Bus Colours

On Seoul city buses you tap your transit card on the reader when you board and again when you get off. Skip the second tap and your transfer is broken, so the next ride costs more. When the reader shows an error, tapping again or tapping just one card usually fixes it. This guide covers fares, cashless buses and what the bus colours mean, based on the Seoul city government's own pages. For subway fares and transfers see the Seoul subway guide; for buying and topping up a card see the T-money guide.

1. 1

   Fares — ₩1,500 on blue and green buses, same by card or cash

   Per the Seoul fare table in force since 12 August 2023, adult fares are ₩1,500 on trunk (blue) and branch (green) buses, ₩1,400 on circular buses, ₩3,000 on express red buses, ₩2,500 on late-night buses and ₩1,200 on village buses — the same whether you pay by transit card or cash. If your first ride of the day starts before 06:30 and you pay by transit card, the base fare is 20% off, so ₩1,200 on blue and green buses. Transfer discounts also need a card, so a transit card such as T-money beats cash.

2. 2

   Tap on and tap off — skipping the tap-off breaks your transfer

   Seoul tells riders to tap the reader every time they board and every time they get off, because that is how distance-based charges are worked out. If you don't tap off, your transfer chain breaks at that bus, and on your next ride the untapped trip is treated as a stand-alone journey — the base fare you didn't pay thanks to the transfer is collected. In effect you lose the transfer discount. The separate rule from 7 March 2026 that adds a base fare for not tapping out applies to the subway only (see the Seoul subway guide).

3. 3

   Reader errors — tap again, and tap only one card

   When a tap works, Seoul bus readers announce in Korean that you have boarded or got off. On an error they say "please tap your card again" or "please use only one card", and the screen shows a red card with an X along with an English message. For "tap again", hold the card against the reader again for a moment. Tapping your whole wallet can bring up the "only one card" message, so take out the one transit card you're using and tap just that. We could not find an official source for what the numbers on the reader screen mean, so we don't list them here.

4. 4

   Cashless buses — 183 routes as of January 2026

   Seoul's published list of cashless bus routes (as of January 2026) has 183 routes, and these buses don't take cash. According to a Seoul explainer from February 2024, you can still board without a transit card and pay later by bank transfer or mobile T-money, with no set deadline for the bank transfer; foreign riders are handed a notice in English, Chinese or Japanese. The list changes, so the simplest approach is to carry a topped-up transit card from the start.

5. 5

   Bus colours — blue trunk, green branch, red express, yellow circular

   Per the Seoul city government, trunk buses are blue, branch buses green, express (gwangyeok) buses red and downtown circular buses yellow. Fares differ by type (see the first step), so a red express bus is ₩3,000. At night, late-night buses run with an N before the number — N stands for "Late Night". Seoul lists 14 routes running 23:00–06:00, at ₩2,500 by card.

6. 6

   Bus-to-bus transfers — within 30 minutes (60 from 21:00 to 07:00), not on the same route

   Per Seoul's transfer rules, one person using one card gets the transfer discount on up to four transfers (five rides), as long as each next ride starts within 30 minutes of getting off (60 minutes from 21:00 to 07:00). There is no discount for switching to the same route or the same vehicle, so getting off and reboarding the same number means paying again. If a group rides on one card, buses still give the transfer discount as long as the same people continue the same journey and you tell the driver how many are riding each time you board — but there is no discount once you switch to the subway. One card each is the surest option. For distance charges when you switch to the subway, see the Seoul subway guide.

7. 7

   Which stop to use — let the map app decide

   Even on the right bus number, you need the stop served in your direction. Rather than picking the stop yourself, enter your destination in Naver Map's transit directions and follow the route. Naver Map's help centre covers real-time bus information and notifications during transit guidance. For switching it to English and searching, see the Naver Map guide.