[Korea.net] New Zealand, Malaysia, Mongolia, Colombia…

These countries all have one thing in common -- they have been using, or will use transport systems based on Korean technology. Korea’s IT-based transport card system allows users to pay for almost all kinds of public transport with a single card. This system is gradually gaining recognition across the world.

New Zealand was the first foreign country to introduce the Korean transport card system. Famous for its T-Money system, Korea Smart Card received orders in October 2007 for the establishment of transport card and auto transaction systems in Wellington and Auckland. As a result, in April 2008, an automatic public transport card system called Snapper Card was developed and installed in 400 buses and around 250 affiliated shops. Now most citizens of Wellington and Auckland use a Snapper Card. Korea Smart Card is in charge of managing the auto transaction and financing system for the card.

Such a transport system can also be found in Mongolia. Named after the country’s capital city, Ulaanbaatar, the U-money transport card is a Mongolian adaptation of Korea’s T-money system. Korea Smart Card received an order for the Smart Ulaanbaatar Project in September 2014 and introduced the smart card system in July last year. The project aims to advance the public transport system of Ulaanbaatar, introducing new technologies and establishing public transport control and e-transaction systems. Currently, around 2,000 buses equipped with smart card readers operate in the city.

Korea’s smart card transport system was introduced in Ulaanbaatar in July last year. The photo above shows one of the buses in the city that is equipped with a smart card reader.

A celebration was held in Ulaanbaatar to mark the introduction of the U-Money system in July 2015. This event was attended by Korean ambassador to Mongolia Oh Song, Korea Smart Card CEO Choi Daesung, and the Vice Mayor of Ulaanbaatar.

The Korean smart card system is also used in Malaysia. In 2011, a Malaysian state bus operation firm RapidKL based in Kuala Lumpur adopted a fleet management system (FMC) and auto fare collection (AFC), both of which were modeled after the Korean transport card system. Currently, 1,500 buses in the Malaysian capital use the AFC system, a customized transport system that enables users to review overall public transport conditions, as well as purchase and recharge their transport cards.

Korea has also been providing consultation services in order to build a transport integration system in Malaysia. Scheduled for completion in 2017, the project was ordered by the Land Public Transport Commission of Malaysia in order to develop the public transport system of the country into an integrated, automated fare system modeled on Korea’s public transport system.

Malaysia will also adopt a transport communication system developed in Korea for its railroad management. LG CNS, a Korean firm specializing in the smart transport sector, received an order to build a communication system for the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) network in Kuala Lumpur in 2012. This project is part of the Economic Transformation Program announced by the Malaysian government in 2010. Under the project, 31 stations are being constructed for an MRT system that will cover a 51-kilometer route. LG CNS will establish systems for wireless communication on the entire railway, communication technology for station management, CCTV, broadcasting, station control, and security facilities, all by 2017.

Korean technology-based transport systems are also in use in Colombia, South America. LG CNS completed the establishment of FMS and AFC technologies for bus management in the Colombian capital city of Bogota last year. The firm began exporting its technology expertise in 2011. Today, approximately 7,000 buses and 120 bus rapid transit vehicles as well as all bus stops use smart card transaction readers which are controlled by an integrated transferring system which will be managed by LG CNS for the next 15 years.


By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Korea Smart Card
arete@korea.kr