Oversupply of Jeonse Buses to Be Resolved Through 'Natural Reduction'... New Operators and Additional Vehicles Restricted for 2 More Years

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[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The government's current restrictions on new registrations and vehicle increases for chartered bus transportation businesses will be extended until November 2022.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 30th that it held the Chartered Bus Supply and Demand Adjustment Committee and decided to extend the 'chartered bus supply and demand adjustment' period, which limits new registrations and increases for chartered bus transportation businesses, by an additional two years until November 2022.

The Chartered Bus Supply and Demand Adjustment Committee is an organization established under the Passenger Transport Service Act to deliberate and decide on matters related to the supply and demand adjustment of chartered bus transportation businesses. It is composed of nine members, including the head of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Transportation and Logistics Office as the chairman, and directors from city and provincial departments.

So far, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has maintained the supply and demand adjustment period since 2014 by inducing natural reduction without artificial vehicle cuts, restricting new registrations and increases to resolve the oversupply problem of chartered buses. According to the Passenger Transport Service Act, the registration of chartered bus transportation businesses can be restricted for a certain period within three years, with the possibility of extending the restriction every two years, and the period has been extended every two years since 2014.

This extension plan for the supply and demand adjustment period was prepared based on the 'Analysis of the Implementation Performance of Supply and Demand Adjustment' conducted by the Korea Transport Institute. According to the study, through three past supply and demand adjustments, the number of registered chartered buses decreased from 47,935 in December 2014 to 42,618 in August this year, a reduction of 5,317 over six years. However, the study analyzed that there is still an oversupply ranging from a minimum of 883 to a maximum of 4,324 vehicles compared to the appropriate supply number.

Baek Seung-geun, head of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Transportation and Logistics Office, said, "To ensure the healthy development and stabilization of the chartered bus transportation market, we will operate the supply scale at an appropriate level and do our best to manage the safety and service of chartered buses so that the public can use them comfortably."