Namyangju City to Transition Bus No. 115 to Public Management System Starting Next Month on the 1st

Joo Gwang-deok Mayor "We Will Improve Traffic Convenience Through Continuous Monitoring"
Expecting at Least 15-Minute Reduction in Commute Times and 1-Hour Extension of Last Train Service

Namyangju City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Joo Gwang-deok) announced on the 20th that it will switch to a public management system from the 1st of next month to resolve the chronic issues of city bus route 115 in the Toegyewon area.

Namyangju City will switch to a public management system starting from the 1st of next month to resolve the chronic issues of city bus number 115 in the Toegyewon area. Photo by Namyangju City

Previously, in June last year, the city established route 115 as a countermeasure following the discontinuation of Seoul city bus route 1156. Since then, due to accumulated deficits of the transportation company and a shortage of drivers, the number of buses in operation decreased from 8 to 4, and the interval between buses extended up to 50 minutes, increasing inconvenience for citizens commuting to and from Seoul.

In response, in July this year, the city temporarily alleviated residents' inconvenience by deploying 2 charter buses to operate 4 trips each during peak hours between Toegyewon Ssangyong Yega Apartments and Seokgye Station.

For a more fundamental solution, the city has been negotiating with Gyeonggi Province since July to transition route 115 to public management, and after a 4-month route bidding process, a total of 8 buses will be converted to the city bus public management system.

As a result, the bus intervals during peak hours are expected to be shortened to approximately 15 minutes at minimum, and the last bus service time will be extended by about 1 hour.

Mayor Joo Gwang-deok of Namyangju City stated, “Despite difficult financial conditions, we decided to switch to a public management system to resolve citizens' transportation inconveniences. We will continue to improve transportation convenience through ongoing monitoring.”