Public transport usage in Seoul plummeted last year due to passengers' coronavirus fears, throwing their operators into management difficulties, official data showed Saturday.
  
According to the data from the metropolitan government, Seoul's subway and bus passenger numbers plunged 27 percent and 24 percent, respectively, last year. Notably, airport bus ridership dived by as much as 85 percent.
  
Seoul Metro, the operator of the city's vast subway system, saw its annual deficit nearly doubling to 1 trillion won ($900 million) in 2020, while bus companies reduced the scope of operations and received bank loans to survive.

The metropolitan government and council have raised the need for a hike in public transportation fees. But it is not easy to actively push for rate hikes due to the COVID-19-related deterioration in the public's livelihoods.
  
The official data found that the number of passengers on Seoul's city and town buses totaled 1,455 million last year, falling 23.6 percent from the previous year's 1,905 million, while airport bus passengers shrank 85.4 percent to 2.12 million.
  
The combined passenger numbers of city, town and airport buses fell 24.1 percent, or 463.4 million, with their combined revenues dropping 29.1 percent, or 473.8 billion won.
  
Faced with serious management difficulties, airport bus companies have suspended operations on almost all routes, while town bus operators reduced bus trips by 17 to 30 percent on two-thirds of their routes.
  
"Even though the public transportation industry is an essential business for daily life, there has been virtually no government support for the bus industry," a bus company executive said.

The situation is similar at Seoul Metro, which saw its passenger numbers declining 27.4 percent from about 2.73 billion in 2019 to about 1.98 billion last year. The company said the government's social distancing guidelines may have led to the steep fall in subway ridership.
  
As a result, Seoul Metro's transport revenues also fell 27 percent from 1.67 trillion won to 1.22 trillion won, with its 2020 net loss reaching 1.09 trillion won.
  
Seoul's basic subway fare has been unchanged at 1,250 won for the past six years since the last hike in 2015. Against such a backdrop, the Seoul city government and council have discussed raising the basic subway fare by 200 to 300 won but have not publicized the necessity for a fare hike due to its impact on people's livelihoods. (Yonhap)