Incheon City announced on April 30 that it will provide a remaining seat information service on all metropolitan buses within the first half of this year.
This service will offer real-time information on the number of available seats along with bus arrival details, allowing citizens to check bus congestion levels in advance.
The city plans to install remaining seat indicators on 114 metropolitan express buses (M buses) across 11 routes and on 253 direct seat buses across 20 routes. The service was launched first on four congested routes (1500, 9100, 9501, M6405) starting on this day.
Since standing has been completely prohibited on metropolitan buses under the Road Traffic Act Enforcement Decree, bus drivers have had difficulty accurately determining the number of vacant seats during operation, leading to frequent conflicts with passengers. The city expects that calculating the remaining seats based on transportation card tags and displaying this information outside the bus will improve user convenience.
The city also plans to upgrade metropolitan bus stops and additionally install LED display boards and electronic route maps at the front of buses.
An official from Incheon City stated, "We will improve the boarding and alighting markings at aging metropolitan bus stops and establish a system that allows citizens to check bus operation information in real time, so that they can use metropolitan buses safely and efficiently."
Meanwhile, although the operation rate of metropolitan buses between Incheon and Seoul had remained in the 50% range, after the city introduced a quasi-public operation system in October last year and improved working conditions for transportation workers, the ratio of operating buses (266 units) to licensed buses (377 units) has now risen to 70.5%.
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