Operating Six 'Call Buses' for the Safe Transportation of Preschool and Elementary Students
14,230 Users Last Year... Accompanying Guardians Assigned on All Buses
Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Hwacheon-gun (Governor Choi Moon-soon) announced on the 6th that the usage of the 'Smart Safe Shuttle Bus' it operates was as high as 14,230 users last year alone. The Smart Safe Shuttle Bus was introduced by Hwacheon-gun in 2017 to ensure the safe transportation of local children.
A child boarding the 'Smart Safe Shuttle Bus' operated by Hwacheon-gun, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, for the safe transportation of preschool children and elementary school students. Photo by Hwacheon-gun Office
Accordingly, Hwacheon-gun started operating a total of six Smart Safe Shuttles (21-seater), with three buses in the Hwacheon-eup area and three in the Sanae-myeon area, from December last year. Until November last year, Hwacheon-gun operated two buses each in Hwacheon-eup and Sanae-myeon areas, totaling four buses, but increased one bus per area.
The Smart Safe Shuttle is a service where preschool children or elementary students can call a bus via smartphone at designated points, commonly referred to as the ‘call bus’ for children in the Hwacheon area. Children who find it difficult to use public transportation can call the bus and travel directly from educational hub facilities in Hwacheon to their residence apartments or other educational hub facilities.
In its first year of introduction in 2017, there were 7,884 users, but last year the number rose to 14,230, showing its popularity. The number of members registered on the Smart Safe Shuttle application on smartphones reached 1,227.
In the Hwacheon-eup and Sanae-myeon areas, buses numbered 1 to 3 operate, with operating hours as follows: Bus 1 from 1:50 PM to 7:40 PM, Bus 2 from 2:20 PM to 8:10 PM, and Bus 3 from 2:00 PM to 7:50 PM.
Since buses are dispatched frequently at times desired by children, there is the advantage that children can safely return home after using educational programs at the children’s library or after the Hwacheon Community Center care program ends.
In the future, if an all-day elementary care facility is established in the Sanae-myeon area, the utility of the Smart Safe Shuttle is expected to increase further. Hwacheon-gun is thoroughly managing operations by assigning accompanying guardians on all shuttles to support the safe boarding and alighting of children.
Choi Moon-soon, Governor of Hwacheon-gun, said, “We will continue to support children so that they can go safely to the places they want to go without worrying about transportation and freely learn what they want to learn.”
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