[Seoul District News] Nowon-gu Installs and Operates ‘Bus Information Terminal (BIT)’ at 6 Large Apartment Complexes for Real-Time Info Access by Elderly and Disabled Without Visiting Stops... ‘Carbon Neutral Green Forest’ Created... Jongno-gu Builds ‘AI Vehicle Tracking System’ Linked with Police for Real-Time Info Transmission to 112 Upon Vehicle Detection... Eunpyeong-gu Establishes New Bus Stop at Eungam 2-dong Community Center
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it has become the first in the nation to install and operate bus information display terminals within residential apartment complexes.
The ‘Bus Information Terminal (BIT)’ installed at bus stops displays the bus arrival times on an electronic board, enhancing convenience for citizens using public transportation.
Recently, apps or internet searches can provide bus arrival times, but elderly and disabled people who have difficulty using digital devices face challenges in accessing this information. Moreover, many of them have limited mobility, making it difficult to arrive at the bus stop on time without prior knowledge of arrival times.
Accordingly, the district decided to install bus information terminals inside apartment complexes so residents can check bus arrival times without leaving their premises.
To this end, since January this year, the district held several on-site consultations with apartment resident representative councils and management offices of the target apartments. They selected optimal locations for residents’ use and completed installation work this month.
The terminals were installed at six locations: ▲Wolgye Jugong Complex 2 ▲Taereung Harrington Place ▲Junggye Jugong Complex 5 ▲Sanggye Jugong Complex 4 ▲Boram ▲Sanggye Jugong Complex 9 apartments.
The district selected the complexes considering the number of passengers boarding at nearby bus stops, the number of bus routes, and the number of apartment households, while excluding apartments near subway stations to maintain regional balance.
The terminals are state-of-the-art devices that display bus routes, expected arrival times, low-floor buses for transportation-vulnerable groups, as well as weather, time, and fine dust information. They are designed to be compatible and integrated with Seoul’s Bus Information System (BIS), providing unified information.
The district expects that many residents who move according to bus arrival times will be able to obtain necessary information without individually searching on smartphones, greatly improving bus usage convenience.
Meanwhile, the district is promoting various projects to realize transportation welfare for residents. Through active investment and field surveys, it has completed 100% installation of information terminals at all bus stops where installation is possible. Additionally, it is conducting a study to establish a comprehensive bus route system reform plan in response to changing resident demands, and plans to promote bus route reorganization through consultations with Seoul City based on the study results.
Furthermore, to support subway users, the district is actively cooperating with Korail, Seoul Metro, and others to install additional elevators and escalators at stations. Currently, convenience facility installation work is underway at 13 subway stations including Gongneung Station, Danggogae Station, and Nowon Station. The escalator installation at Kwangwoon University Station, a long-standing wish of nearby residents due to structural issues for over 30 years, is scheduled for completion in September this year.
Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “Inconveniences in public transportation, called the citizens’ feet, must be properly diagnosed and improved by viewing them through the eyes of residents. We will continue to provide proactive administrative services to ensure even the smallest inconveniences of residents are not overlooked.”
Gwangjin-gu is launching the creation of a ‘Carbon Neutral Green Forest’ using the tree-planting app ‘OnTree’ to encourage residents’ participation in environmental protection activities and contribute to carbon neutrality.
‘OnTree’ is an app meaning ‘turning on trees, continuing tree planting,’ where users earn points by practicing eco-friendly habits and verifying them with photos through the app.
When a certain score (1000 points) is accumulated, the district plants trees with nameplates of residents to create the ‘Carbon Neutral Green Forest.’
The ‘OnTree’ app can be downloaded on smartphones, and after signing up, users complete 12 eco-friendly missions feasible in daily life, such as ▲separating waste for recycling ▲unplugging electrical plugs ▲using tumblers ▲using public transportation ▲using reusable shopping bags.
Each mission completion and verification earns 20 points once per week per activity. Additionally, sharing practice cases with others via personal SNS grants 10 extra points.
Users can check the total amount of carbon dioxide reduced (kg) each time they complete eco-friendly missions, allowing them to see how much they contribute to carbon neutrality.
From April 18 to 30, a lights-off mission will be added to commemorate Earth Day (April 22). In July, Gwangjin-gu will operate special missions such as walking on Achasan and strolling on Gwangjin Bridge through the app.
The district plans to plant about 100 trees named after outstanding participants who practiced carbon neutrality activities through the ‘OnTree’ app, creating the Carbon Neutral Green Forest in October this year. Trees can also be planted under the names of groups such as daycare centers, kindergartens, and elementary to high schools.
Kim Young-mi, Director of Safety and Environment Bureau of Gwangjin-gu, said, “We will support residents’ carbon neutrality activities and become a leading district in responding to climate change through tree planting projects that absorb fine dust and carbon. We will also strive to further spread eco-friendly daily life practices among residents.”
Jongno-gu was selected as a local government for the ‘AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Data-Based Smart City Integrated Platform Model Development and Demonstration Research’ by the Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement (KAIA) on the 13th of this month, and plans to establish an ‘AI Wanted Vehicle Tracking System and Smart City Integrated Platform’ at the CCTV control center by the end of this year.
This is expected to strengthen cooperation with various public institutions using advanced technology and enhance resident safety.
First, the ‘AI Wanted Vehicle Tracking System’ links vehicle license plates captured by local CCTV with the Police Agency’s Wanted Vehicle Information System (WASS). When a wanted vehicle is detected, it transmits real-time information such as time, location, and vehicle photos to the 112 emergency call center.
Since tracking is possible beyond administrative boundaries, it can alert nearby patrol cars to emergencies and assist rapid dispatch and arrest.
Additionally, the ‘Smart City Integrated Platform’ aims to provide CCTV footage for situations related to protecting citizens’ property and lives, including ▲112 dispatch and on-site support (police) ▲119 dispatch and on-site support (fire) ▲disaster situation support (local government) ▲protection of children and dementia patients (telecom companies, private sector) ▲women’s safety support (Ministry of Gender Equality and Family) ▲electronic anklet violator arrest (Ministry of Justice) ▲military operations and training support (Ministry of National Defense).
This will contribute to securing the golden time and minimizing damage by enabling essential situation awareness for responding to various incidents and accidents, thereby establishing a dense urban safety network.
Jongno-gu currently operates a total of 1,855 CCTV cameras 24 hours a day for various purposes such as crime prevention and illegal parking enforcement. Considering the district’s characteristics?located in downtown with heavy foot traffic, clustered tourist attractions, entertainment districts, and shantytowns?new CCTV installations have been made annually.
Since January this year, an AI-based video analysis technology has been introduced to capture movements of people, vehicles, and animals appearing on screens. If deemed a risk to citizen safety, related footage is prioritized and displayed to control room operators through the ‘Intelligent Selective Monitoring System.’
Unlike traditional visual monitoring, this system enables high-speed searches, minimizing the time to find incident footage and improving object recognition accuracy and efficiency.
Eunpyeong-gu announced that a new bus stop at ‘Eungam 2-dong Community Center’ will open, with buses 7019 and 7734 scheduled to operate from the 25th.
The area near the stop has seen a sharp increase in households due to recent redevelopment and reconstruction projects, leading to a surge in public transportation demand. Residents have consistently requested bus route expansions since the initial move-in period.
In response to residents’ demands, the district conducted a traffic safety opinion inquiry with the police station and collected residents’ opinions in August last year. Based on the results, the district requested the Seoul Metropolitan Government to establish the bus stop, which was finally approved.
The newly established stop is installed on both sides of the road at 225-145 Eungam-dong, connected by Baekryeonsan-ro. According to the district, the new bus stop is expected to greatly improve transportation convenience for local residents using public transit.
A district official stated, “We will do our best to manage transportation facilities to ensure residents do not experience inconvenience when using public transportation in the future.”
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