Extension of Jeonse Bus Registration Restriction Until 2024... Impact of Oversupply

Photo by Yonhap News

The restrictions on new registrations and vehicle increases applied to chartered bus passenger transportation businesses will be extended until 2024.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 30th that, after deliberation by the Chartered Bus Supply and Demand Adjustment Committee, it has decided to extend the 'chartered bus supply and demand adjustment' period, which limits new registrations and increases in chartered bus transportation businesses, by two years until November 2024.

So far, the Ministry has implemented supply and demand adjustments four times from December 2014 to November 2022 by restricting business plan change registrations that include new registrations and increases, inducing natural reduction to resolve the oversupply of chartered buses.

To review the continuation of supply and demand adjustments, the Ministry prepared an adjustment plan through the 'Supply and Demand Adjustment Performance Analysis Research Project (Korea Transport Institute)' and by collecting opinions from local governments and experts.

As a result of the adjustments so far, the number of registered chartered buses decreased by 6,236 over eight years; however, due to the short-term sharp decline in demand caused by COVID-19, the situation is still analyzed as oversupply. The number of registered vehicles exceeds the appropriate number considering demand by at least 2,382.

The Chartered Bus Supply and Demand Adjustment Committee and the expert advisory group also agreed that "the current chartered bus transportation market is still oversupplied due to the impact of COVID-19, and an extension of the supply and demand adjustment is necessary for the time being."

However, concerns were raised that due to the prolonged adjustment, some regions are experiencing shortages of chartered buses during peak seasons, and from the perspective of consumer protection and passenger safety management, there is a need to reorganize policy directions such as whether to continue supply and demand adjustments in the mid to long term.

Kim Su-sang, Director of the Transportation and Logistics Office at the Ministry, said, "To ensure the stable development 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."