Time Out, the British global city culture and travel publication, named Seoul the world's fifth-best city for public transportation, and CNN also listed the Seoul subway among the world's best metro systems. Officials credit a dense subway network, affordable fares and sustained investment in safety and accessibility facilities for strengthening the international competitiveness of Seoul's public transit.
Time Out ranked Seoul fifth in its "World's Best Cities for Public Transport 2026" list published on Oct. 13, up three spots from eighth a year earlier, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said on the 21st. In a survey of about 24,000 people worldwide, positive assessments of Seoul's public transportation rose to 91.1% this year from 84% a year earlier, a gain of 7.1 percentage points. Taipei, Singapore, Hong Kong and Edinburgh took the top four spots. Time Out cited Seoul's extensive subway network, clean cars, reliable mobile phone service underground and reasonable fares as strengths.
CNN included Seoul in its list of the world's 18 best metro systems on Oct. 17, praising the system's cleanliness, safety and efficiency. It also highlighted air conditioning and heating in cars as well as heated seats.
The city government attributed the recognition to long-term investment in safety and convenience facilities. A leading example is the platform screen doors installed across all 262 stations on subway lines 1 through 8, completed in 2009. Subway accident fatalities fell about 99% to an annual average of 0.4 in 2010 through 2024, from 37.1 a year in 2001 through 2009, before the doors were installed. No deaths occurred in 2025.
Mobility for passengers with reduced mobility has also improved. The city invested about 175.1 billion won ($122 million) from 2007 to expand elevators, and by December 2025 it had secured a single step-free route at all 338 subway stations under its management. Wheelchair users and others can now travel from street level to the platform without assistance.
The city is also expanding advanced services. It has introduced "tagless" payment, which allows riders to pass through fare gates without tapping a transit card, as well as an artificial intelligence real-time interpretation service. Since March of this year, riders have been able to buy tickets and other fares with overseas credit and debit cards at 273 stations.
"The global acclaim for the Seoul subway is the result of continued investment in citizen safety and mobility convenience," said Yeo Jang-gwon, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's transportation bureau. "We will further strengthen the competitiveness of Seoul's public transportation based on safety, consideration for vulnerable passengers and advanced technology."