According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government's English bus page, an adult ride on a blue or green Seoul city bus costs ₩1,500, by transit card or in cash — the two are the same price on these buses. Before 6:30 AM, the first ride with a card is ₩1,200. Red rapid buses to the suburbs cost ₩3,000, and the late-night owl bus costs ₩2,500.
Those figures come from the fare table on the Seoul Metropolitan Government's English bus page, which is titled "Bus fares (as of 3 AM on Sat, Aug. 12, 2023)". We read the page on 12 October 2026. One warning before the numbers: the Seoul Metropolitan Government's table has two sets of columns, Old and New, and the Old column still shows ₩1,200 for an adult card. Several summaries online quote the Old column as if it were today's price. Every figure below is from the New column.
How much is a Seoul bus ride, by bus colour?
Seoul sorts its city buses into five route types, and the colour of the bus tells you which one you are on. The page lists blue for trunk buses, green for branch and local buses, yellow for circulation buses and red for rapid buses. The fare depends on the type, so the colour is the quickest way to know what you will pay. The adult fares below are from the New columns of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's table, read on 12 October 2026.
| Bus type (colour) | Adult card | Adult cash | Adult, card before 6:30 AM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trunk (blue) and branch (green) | ₩1,500 | ₩1,500 | ₩1,200 |
| Circulation (yellow) and some branch routes | ₩1,400 | ₩1,400 | ₩1,120 |
| Local (green, small neighbourhood bus) | ₩1,200 | ₩1,200 | ₩960 |
| Rapid (red, to the suburbs) | ₩3,000 | ₩3,000 | ₩2,400 |
| Owl (late night) | ₩2,500 | ₩2,500 | No discount |
The Seoul Metropolitan Government's table labels the yellow-bus row "Circulation bus / Branch bus (Differential fares)", which means some green branch routes are priced at the lower ₩1,400 rather than ₩1,500. The page does not list which branch routes those are, so if you are on a green bus, expect ₩1,500 and treat a lower charge as a pleasant surprise.
Why is the cash price the same as the card price?
Unlike the subway, where cash costs more than a card, on blue and green buses the Seoul Metropolitan Government's New column lists ₩1,500 for both. So for a single adult ride, paying cash does not cost more.
What cash does cost you is the transfer. The page's transfer rules are written around the card: the card has to be tapped when you get off, and the transfer discount is built on that record. Pay cash and there is nothing to carry over to your next bus or train. On a one-off ride that does not matter. On a day of bus-subway-bus trips it does, which is why a transit card is still the better choice for almost every visitor.
Teen and child cash fares are where the gap reappears. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government's table, a teen pays ₩900 by card but ₩1,000 in cash on a blue or green bus, and on a rapid bus ₩1,700 by card against ₩1,800 in cash.
Teen and child fares
The page defines adults as ages 19 and over, teens as 12 to 18, and children as 6 to 12. The fares below are from the New columns of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's table.
| Bus type | Teen card | Teen cash | Child card | Child cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trunk and branch | ₩900 | ₩1,000 | ₩550 | ₩550 |
| Circulation | ₩800 | ₩800 | ₩500 | ₩500 |
| Local | ₩600 | ₩600 | ₩400 | ₩400 |
| Rapid | ₩1,700 | ₩1,800 | ₩1,500 | ₩1,500 |
| Owl | ₩1,600 | ₩1,800 | ₩1,400 | ₩1,400 |
Children under 6 ride free when accompanied: the page allows three infants and toddlers under age 6 with an adult guardian. A fourth child, or a small child boarding alone, pays the child fare.
Do I need to tap my card when I get off the bus?
Yes, and this is the single most useful thing to know about Seoul buses. The page's transfer rules begin with it: "The card must be tapped when getting off." There is a reader by the rear door for this.
If you skip it, nothing happens on that bus — you already paid when you boarded. The cost shows up on your next ride. Without a tap-off record, the system cannot tell that your next bus or train is a transfer, so it charges you a full new base fare.
How do bus transfers work in Seoul?
The Seoul Metropolitan Government's bus page sets out the fare system briefly:
- Bus only, single ride: one flat fare, whatever the distance.
- With a transfer: you pay a base fare covering up to 10 km, plus ₩100 for every 5 km after that, counted over the whole journey.
- Which base fare: the higher base fare among the modes you used.
And the Seoul Metropolitan Government's transfer rules:
| Rule | What the page states |
|---|---|
| Tap off | The card must be tapped when getting off |
| Time limit | Board within 30 minutes of getting off; within 60 minutes from 9 PM to 7 AM next day |
| How many | Up to 4 transfers (5 boardings) |
| Same bus or route | Not a transfer; you are charged again if you re-board the same vehicle or route |
| Minimum transfer amount | ₩250 |
| Group on one card | Accepted only if boarding point, get-off point and number of people are the same; no subway transfers for groups |
Two details on that page are worth flagging. First, the rules box gives the night window as 9 PM to 7 AM, while the "Transfer tips" box lower down says "9 AM to 7 AM". The second is almost certainly a typo, since a window from 9 AM to 7 AM the next morning would cover the whole day, but we are telling you it is there rather than quietly correcting it. Plan on 30 minutes during the day and 60 minutes at night.
Second, the subway page on the same site words the transfer allowance as "up to 5 free transfers", while the bus page says "up to 4 times (5 boardings)". We covered that difference in our Seoul subway fare guide. The safe reading is five rides in one journey.
Travelling as a group on one card
The page allows several people to pay on one card, with conditions. Tell the driver how many people are boarding before you tap. When you transfer, tell the next driver the original number so the discount carries over. And the subway transfer discount does not apply to group boarding at all — if your group is moving on to the subway, each person needs a card.
How can I pay on a Seoul bus?
The page lists three payment methods:
- Prepaid transportation card — T-money, Cashbee, Hanpay, Rail+, Onepass and others, sold at convenience stores and bus card charging stations. Our T-money guide covers buying and topping one up.
- Deferred transportation card — a credit or debit card issued by Korean card companies and banks.
- Cash, at the fares in the table.
The page does not say whether a foreign-issued contactless bank card works on the bus reader. We are not going to guess. A prepaid card bought at a convenience store is the option the page clearly covers.
If you will ride a lot over several days, compare the Climate Card, Seoul's unlimited-ride pass, against what your rides would cost at these fares.
Checklist before your first Seoul bus ride
The fares in this checklist are the Seoul Metropolitan Government's New-column adult card fares.
- Get a prepaid transit card at a convenience store. It is the payment method the page lists first, and it is the one that carries transfers.
- Look at the bus colour: blue or green ₩1,500, yellow ₩1,400, small green local ₩1,200, red ₩3,000 (adult, card).
- Tap the reader when you board.
- Tap again at the rear door when you get off. No tap-off, no transfer.
- Catch your next bus or train within 30 minutes (60 minutes between 9 PM and 7 AM).
- Re-boarding the same route does not count as a transfer.
- Travelling as a group on one card? Tell the driver the number of people first.
Airport limousine buses. They are not on the city bus fare table, and we did not find an official page that prints their fares in a readable form.
Sources and how to check
- All bus fares, route colours, transfer rules, payment methods and the under-6 rule — Seoul Metropolitan Government, Bus: https://english.seoul.go.kr/policy/transportation/modes-of-transport/bus/ . Fare table titled "Bus fares (as of 3 AM on Sat, Aug. 12, 2023)". The page also carries a page-level label "Information as of 21 Feb, 2017", which is older than its own fare table; we rely on the table's own date.
- To check a fare yourself: open the page, find the table, and read the New columns. The Old columns are the pre-August-2023 fares.
- Seoul's Dasan Call Center number on the page is 02-120.
Page read and figures copied on 12 October 2026.
Questions readers ask about Seoul Bus Fare in 2026
How much is a bus ride in Seoul?
₩1,500 for an adult on a blue trunk or green branch bus, by card or cash. Yellow circulation buses are ₩1,400, small green local buses ₩1,200, red rapid buses ₩3,000 and the owl bus ₩2,500. These are from the New column of the city's table dated 12 August 2023, read on 12 October 2026.
Is cash more expensive than a card on Seoul buses?
For adults on blue and green buses, no: the official table lists ₩1,500 for both. Teens pay ₩900 by card and ₩1,000 in cash. The bigger cost of cash is losing the transfer discount, which is built around the card.
Do I have to tap my card when getting off?
Yes. The city's transfer rules start with 'The card must be tapped when getting off.' If you skip it, your next bus or train is charged as a new base fare instead of a transfer.
How long do I have to transfer?
Board the next bus or train within 30 minutes of getting off, or within 60 minutes between 9 PM and 7 AM. Up to 4 transfers (5 boardings) count as one journey. Re-boarding the same route is not a transfer.
Is there a discount for early morning buses?
Yes, 20% off with a card before 6:30 AM, excluding the owl bus. That makes a blue or green bus ₩1,200 for an adult.