Should I buy a compact car? With the recent increase in public transport fares, the working class is feeling the pinch, leading to increased interest in compact vehicles.
Seoul City recently announced a public transportation fare increase for the first time in eight years since 2015. The plans include a proposal to raise the base fare for subways and city buses by 300 won in Option 1 and 400 won in Option 2. Additionally, the current fare system that charges 100 won for every 5 km will also see an increase to 150 won.
As public transport fares rise significantly, more people are considering buying compact cars. This is because the operational costs of these vehicles are generally lower compared to the skyrocketing public transport fares.
Hypothetically assuming a 400 won increase in subway fares, for a 10 km ride, the subway fare would be 1,650 won, while the fuel cost for a compact car like the Morning would only be 993 won, making it less than half the subway fare. (Based on the average gasoline price of 1,577.18 won on the 9th and a fuel efficiency of 15.7 km/L for the Morning) Commuting from Bupyeong to Yeouido by subway would cost 1,950 won (1,650 base fare plus an additional 300 won for distance), while the fuel cost for a Morning driver is around 2,002 won, a similar level.
In fact, the used car market has seen a surge in demand for compact cars. The online used car shopping mall Carmers reported that the sales of compact cars are on the rise.
Hyundai and Kia are also paying attention to this trend. They stated, “It may be worthwhile to consider marketing compact cars as an alternative to the public transport fare hike.”
Hyundai and Kia sold over 130,000 compact cars last year with the Casper and Ray, leading a revival in the compact car segment. There is growing interest in whether a resurgence of compact cars will occur this year, coinciding with the increase in public transport fares.
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr