Cheonan City Bus Routes Reorganized, Passenger Numbers Increase by 4.7%

70.3% Increase in Urban Circulation Express Bus Passengers

The newly established East District express bus route 405, running between the Comprehensive Terminal and Byeongcheon-myeon, following the city bus route reorganization last January.

Cheonan City in Chungnam Province has seen an increase in citizen satisfaction following the reorganization of city bus routes.

According to the city on the 14th, an analysis of city bus transportation card data after the route system reorganization in January showed that the average daily number of passengers in March was 125,834, an increase of 5,611 passengers or 4.7% compared to 120,223 in October last year before the reorganization.

After the route reorganization, demand for city buses in the southern area increased the most by 8.6%, followed by 6.3% in the downtown area, 5.4% in the northern area, and 2.6% in the eastern area.

The downtown circular express bus “Route 5,” which shortened the dispatch interval by 20 minutes and increased the number of trips by 22, saw its average daily ridership in March rise to 3,557, a 70.27% increase from 2,089 in October last year.

Accessibility to downtown public transportation also improved. The newly established eastern express route 405, running between the Comprehensive Terminal and Byeongcheon-myeon, reduced travel time by 15 minutes compared to the existing main route 400. Routes 80, 85, and 88, newly created mainly in newly developed areas, have recorded an average daily ridership of over 1,177 passengers.

Additionally, the introduction of the demand-responsive public transportation service, Cheonan Call Bus, around Jiksan Station in December last year resulted in a cumulative ridership of 36,537 passengers by May this year.

The city plans to establish a smart transportation innovation system by considering measures such as creating new branch bus routes in Jiksan-eup, reorganizing routes due to the construction of a public garage in the southern area and the Gakwonsa parking lot, improving city bus stop facilities, and introducing female drivers to increase the number of transportation workers.

Mayor Park Sang-don stated, “We will not be complacent with the current situation and will do our best to provide convenient public transportation services to citizens.”