Seo Proposes “Maritime Public Transportation Act”
Also Introduces Amendments to Fisheries Resources and Pesticide Control Acts
A bill has been proposed to improve the conditions for using passenger ferries, the only means of public transportation for island residents.
Seo Samseok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea representing Yeongam, Muan, and Sinan in South Jeolla Province, officially proposed the “Maritime Public Transportation Act” on the 18th.
The “Act on the Promotion and Use of Public Transportation” defines buses, railways, subways, passenger ferries, and ferries as public transportation. It also stipulates that convenience, such as transfers between public transportation modes, should be enhanced and that a basic plan must be established every five years. The Yoon Sukyeol administration, which began in 2022, previously announced the implementation of a public operation system for passenger ferries as a national policy task by 2025.
However, improvements to transportation conditions in island regions have been slow. According to the “4th Basic Plan for Public Transportation (2022-2026)” announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the government selected five tasks: support for routes to isolated islands, increasing the installation rate of mobility convenience facilities on coastal passenger ferries, improving user facilities, modernizing coastal passenger ferry vessels, and establishing a linkage and transfer system for coastal passenger ferries. As of 2023, there were 67 isolated islands, falling short of the original target of 60, and the installation rate of mobility convenience facilities on standard passenger ferries was only 46.4%, with no wheelchair lift facilities at all. To date, a linkage and transfer system between land and maritime public transportation has not been introduced, and the average age of passenger ferries is 16 years, approaching the limit of 20 years.
The proposed bill would allow the government to designate and operate public routes, construct public transportation facilities or support related services, and partially subsidize fares for maritime public transportation users.
Seo stated, “Although the Yoon Sukyeol administration promised the introduction of a public operation system for passenger ferries as a national policy task, there has been no progress so far, and it has become difficult to pursue due to martial law and impeachment issues. As island residents are even having their basic rights guaranteed by the Constitution infringed upon, I proposed this bill to ensure transportation rights and improve the efficiency of maritime public transportation.”
Meanwhile, on the same day, Seo also proposed three other bills: amendments to the Act on the Development of the Living Logistics Service Industry, the Fisheries Resources Management Act, and the Pesticide Control Act.
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