Incheon-Seoul Metropolitan Bus Semi-Public Operation System to Start on the 15th... Operation Rate to Increase up to 70%

Incheon City will implement the Incheon-type semi-public metropolitan bus system starting from the 15th, targeting 201 buses on 28 routes operated by 10 transportation companies.

The city recently agreed to pay metropolitan bus drivers a monthly wage of 4.2 million KRW (based on driver level 3) and announced that on the 10th, it signed the Incheon metropolitan bus labor-management-government win-win agreement.

Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok is taking a commemorative photo with the agreement parties at the 'Incheon Metropolitan Bus Semi-Public Operation System Sudden Implementation Labor-Management-Government Win-Win Agreement Ceremony' held at City Hall on the 10th. (From left: Kim In-su, Director of Incheon Transportation Bureau; Kim Seong-tae, Chairman of the Incheon Labor Union of the National Automobile Labor Union Federation; Yoo Jeong-bok, Mayor of Incheon; Park Su-eung, Representative of Incheon Metropolitan Bus Transport Operators; Kim Tae-in, Senior Vice President of Incheon Bus Transport Business Association)

According to the agreement, the current metropolitan bus operation rate of 59.9% will be increased to 70%, and the dispatch intervals for major commuting routes such as M6405 and 9100 will be shortened to within 10 minutes. The city plans to gradually raise the operation rate to 90% (306 buses) and operate metropolitan buses according to the transportation demand in large-scale housing development areas such as Geomdan and Songdo.

Additionally, by 2025, the city plans to introduce a remaining seat notification service based on vehicle arrival times, renovate aging bus stops, and enhance bus information notification functions.

The semi-public system is a scheme that supports losses by covering the deficit between operating expenses and transportation revenue for routes. To maximize operational efficiency, the city will proactively manage the number of metropolitan buses and financial requirements. In particular, for metropolitan express buses (M buses), the city will actively pursue transitioning to a national management system and seek national subsidy plans.

Yoo Jeong-bok, Mayor of Incheon, said, "The introduction of the metropolitan bus semi-public system will greatly improve citizens' transportation convenience," and added, "Labor, management, and government will cooperate to ensure the successful establishment of the system."