[LETTERS TO THE EDITOR]Children, adults and subways

I live in Busan, and I have a son in middle school. Not long ago, my son told me that his class was meeting on the outskirts of the city for a field trip.
I asked him to take the subway, concerned about traffic congestion.
But my son complained after he came home that he had to pay the adult price on the subway; a clerk told him that if he did not use a transportation card to pay for his travel, he had to buy an adult ticket.
My son goes to a school just five minutes from home on foot, and so does not need a student transportation card. My son tried showing his student identification card, but the clerk answered that he cannot get students’ discount only by showing his student I.D.
Why do only transportation cards entitle a rider to a discount? Why do subways charge the same price for both adults and students when buses charge different fares for students and adults?
I hope the municipal government of Busan addresses this issue.

by Kim Chul-su