Will Congested Commuter Express Buses Breathe Easier? "Chartered Buses to Be Deployed"

(Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] The government will add charter buses to 11 routes, including Dongtan in Hwaseong and Yeongtong in Suwon, where congestion during commuting hours is high or the intervals between buses are long, causing significant inconvenience.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Metropolitan Area Wide-area Transportation Committee announced on the 18th that it will support the addition of 44 daily trips (29 in the morning and 15 in the evening) by deploying charter buses on 11 metropolitan express bus routes.

The metropolitan express bus additional operation support project has been sequentially starting from basic local governments that completed preparations for additional operations since last month.

Six metropolitan express bus routes operating from Hwaseong Dongtan and Seongnam Bundang to Seoul began additional operations on the 14th of last month, and four metropolitan express bus routes operating from Suwon Yeongtong, Homaesil, and Yongin Suji to Seoul have increased services starting this month.

Three routes in Suwon City began additional operations on the 5th, one route in Yongin City will start on the 19th, and the metropolitan express bus route operating from Paju Unjeong to Seoul will deploy charter buses in December.

In Hwaseong and Seongnam, where additional services started last month, the average interval between buses during commuting hours decreased by about 6 minutes compared to before the increase (from 20 minutes to 14 minutes).

Overall, the total seat supply during commuting hours on the 11 routes is expected to increase by about 30%. Accordingly, the convenience of using metropolitan express buses is expected to improve significantly.

Ji Jongcheol, Director of Metropolitan Transportation Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Metropolitan Area Wide-area Transportation Committee, said, "Starting next year, we will expand support for additional operations not only for metropolitan express buses but also for general metropolitan buses to continuously improve metropolitan transportation services."