"Even Model Drivers Face Ticket Humiliation Here"... Bus-Only Lanes Resulting in Billions in Fines

Hakyeoul Station·Jamsil Station Intersection·Hwarangdae Station Intersection
Driver Complaints After Right Turn onto Bus-Only Lane

"You can check the CCTV at the time, but due to road conditions, it was difficult to change lanes."

In January, Mr. A, who was caught violating the bus-only lane at the Hwarangdae Station intersection in Nowon-gu, Seoul, filed an objection to the relevant Seoul city department regarding the violation. The response was "The objection cannot be accepted."

[Photo by Asia Economy DB]
(This photo is not directly related to the article.)

Mr. A is not alone in protesting the unfairness of bus-only lane violation enforcement. Drivers point out several representative locations. The number of bus-only lane violations at the Hakyeoul Station intersection in front of Hanbo Eunma Apartment in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, was 12,575 last year, which is three times the Seoul city average (4,175). Among drivers, this place is called the "trap of fines."

Other places with more than 10,000 enforcement cases last year include the Jamsil Station intersection in Songpa-gu (26,574 cases) and the Hwarangdae Station intersection in Nowon-gu where Mr. A was caught (12,520 cases), both known for frequent bus-only lane violation enforcement.

From 2020 to August last year, the number of vehicles caught violating bus-only lanes at Jamsil Station in Songpa-gu and Hwarangdae Station in Nowon-gu reached a staggering 85,000. The fine for bus-only lane violations is 50,000 KRW per case, amounting to approximately 4.25 billion KRW in total.

Along with Hakyeoul Station in Gangnam-gu, these three locations ranked first to third in the number of violations detected by the 48 unmanned bus-only lane enforcement cameras installed in Seoul last year. Drivers criticized that the cameras were installed based on uniform guidelines without reflecting road conditions and driving convenience.

At the Hakyeoul Station intersection, turning right toward Nambusunhwan-ro leads directly into the bus-only lane. In such cases, regulations require a lane change section up to 76 meters from the intersection to allow vehicles to exit the bus-only lane, but during rush hours, this lane change section is practically ineffective due to the heavy volume of straight-going vehicles coming from the Daechi Station direction.

As a result, drivers who cannot merge or are unfamiliar with the route pass through the lane change section and are immediately caught by the enforcement cameras.

Seoul city also recognized the need for some improvements. After a famous celebrity criticized on a YouTube channel that the Jamsil Station intersection and Hwarangdae Station intersection "practically induce enforcement," the city stopped enforcement at these locations from November last year.

Since then, Seoul city announced in January that it plans to change the solid and dashed road markings near Jamsil Station in Songpa-gu and Hwarangdae Station in Nowon-gu, where bus-only lane violations are frequent, by March. To reduce driver confusion, the enforcement cameras in these sections will be removed during February and March, and the solid and dashed road markings will be reorganized.