Naju City in Jeollanam-do has been officially operating the Naju Call Bus, which was piloted in the Bitgaram-dong area from September last year to April this year, starting May 1.
According to the city on the 13th, this bus is a new concept of public transportation that allows passengers to reach their destination by calling the bus through an app (BaroDRT) or call center at the bus stop, regardless of fixed routes or timetables.
Under the 8th administration's major public transportation transformation policy, five 15-seat minibuses were introduced for the first time among local governments in the province, and a pilot operation was conducted in Bitgaram-dong for eight months from September 1 last year to April 30.
After the introduction of the Call Bus, the average monthly number of bus users in Bitgaram-dong was recorded at about 9,600.
Before the Call Bus was introduced, the average monthly users of the public-type bus operating in Bitgaram-dong was about 2,200, so the number of users increased approximately fourfold, and the usage rate rose by about 330% after the introduction.
Excluding so-called ‘no-show’ users who reserved but did not actually board, the number of Call Bus users started at 7,720 in September last year, then 9,702 in October, 9,558 in November, 10,190 in December, 10,803 in January this year, 9,522 in February, and 10,370 in March.
Actual users, the citizens, also showed high satisfaction with the Naju Call Bus.
‘Studio Galilee,’ the platform operator of Naju Call Bus, conducted a user satisfaction survey covering four areas?convenience, efficiency, comfort, and kindness?over six days from December 14 last year, targeting 314 users.
As a result of the survey, 77% (243 people) of all respondents said ‘using the Call Bus is convenient,’ and 74% (232 people) responded that ‘travel time decreased compared to regular buses, making it efficient.’
Also, 85% (268 people) of all respondents said ‘the inside of the bus is clean,’ and 82% (257 people) answered ‘the staff are kind,’ receiving high evaluations for comfort and kindness.
Meanwhile, regarding the reasons for calling the Call Bus, ‘leisure’ (140 people) and ‘commuting’ (95 people) were the top reasons, while there were also improvement requests (11 people) concerning waiting time inconveniences due to no-shows, reservation cancellations, and sudden increases in users.
Based on the pilot operation results such as increased Call Bus users and highly satisfactory services, the city plans to operate the Call Bus for two years.
The Call Bus fare is 1,000 KRW for adults, 700 KRW for teenagers, and 500 KRW for children, operating from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The last call is accepted until 10 p.m.
However, considering the inconvenience to actual users caused by an increase in no-shows, a penalty will be applied to restrict usage for two hours upon one no-show occurrence.
Additionally, to improve operational efficiency, there are plans to downsize the existing 15-seat buses to 12-seat minibuses.
Mayor Yoon Byung-tae said, “The Naju Call Bus, introduced and operated for the first time in Jeollanam-do, has established itself as a key part of demand-oriented public transportation,” and added, “We will carefully review and definitely improve the inconveniences experienced by citizens during the pilot operation period.”
Naju = Kim Yukbong, Honam Reporting Headquarters, Asia Economy baekok@asiae.co.kr
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