[New Transportation Refugee Report] ② "Parents with Children Face Hardships"... Public Transit Lacking Childcare Considerations

The Future of Seoul - The Future of Transportation
Low-Floor Bus Adoption Rate Far from Targets
Need for Childcare-Friendly Transportation
Lack of Nursing Rooms in Subway Stations
Only 31% of Stations on Lines 1 to 8 Equipped
"Customized Services Needed for Transportation System Advancement"

Interior view of a low-floor bus in Seoul. Unlike typical city buses, the space is relatively spacious. Photo by Lee Jungyoon

There is a growing demand to incorporate the "parenting" sector from the earliest stages of planning future transportation systems. The argument is that, in an era of low birth rates, "childcare-friendly mobility" should become a key pillar of South Korea's future transportation. However, there remains a gap between the pace of social structural change and the transportation system.

Kim Woojin (35), who lives in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, always uses a private car when going out with his three-year-old son. This is because of a previous unpleasant experience when his child started crying while they were on a city bus with a stroller. There are not enough low-floor buses, which are considered more childcare-friendly public transportation. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, as of last month, the proportion of low-floor buses supplied on city bus routes where such buses can operate was 77.6%. When including bus routes and areas with steep inclines where it is difficult to deploy low-floor buses, the supply rate drops to 71.8%. Kim said, "Using public transportation with a young child requires a great deal of courage."

The slow introduction of low-floor buses is due to difficulties in determining the timing for vehicle replacement. When the time comes to remove the commercial license plate from an old vehicle and register a new one, existing buses are replaced with low-floor buses. However, the replacement period has been extended beyond the original plan. An official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government explained, "It usually takes 9 to 11 years for vehicle replacement, but since the ordinance only sets declarative targets, there has been a gap with reality." This suggests that the plan was unrealistic from the beginning.

Overseas, transportation policies that consider the needs of children and parents are emerging, such as providing designated stroller spaces on low-floor buses. In Germany, buses are in operation with separate spaces for strollers and wheelchairs. In New York, USA, there are similar buses where space equivalent to two seats is allocated for strollers.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government provides customized route guidance for easy stroller movement and a low-floor bus reservation service through the "Seoul Companion Map" application. However, infrastructure improvements are essential for this service to function properly. Lee Subum, professor of transportation engineering at the University of Seoul, said, "The city should have set realistic goals based on the actual situation, but it is unfortunate that the timing for vehicle replacement was not properly considered," adding, "If space for stroller storage is provided inside the buses, their utilization could increase significantly."

The subway is not much more convenient. Although there are seats for the elderly and pregnant women and elevators are installed in many places, parents with infants tend to avoid the subway. Currently, among the 276 subway stations on lines 1 to 8 managed by Seoul Metro, only 31.1% (86 stations) have nursing rooms. In particular, on Line 3, only about 17% (6 stations) are equipped with nursing rooms. Seoul Metro is reluctant to expand nursing rooms, citing low usage rates, but some argue that efforts should first be made to increase usage. Kim Namjin, secretary-general of the Citizens' Solidarity for Barrier-Free Living Environment, stated, "It is not logical to refuse to increase convenience facilities like nursing rooms simply because of low usage rates," and added, "If the number of nursing rooms is increased and they are made easier to find and more comfortable, not only will the use of nursing rooms rise, but subway usage overall will naturally increase as well."

Taxis, which now operate on an app-based call system, are somewhat better, but parents still feel uncomfortable. It is difficult to load a stroller into the trunk, and even when hailing a taxi on the street, drivers often ignore passengers with strollers. Kim, the secretary-general, said, "To advance the public transportation system, it is necessary to go beyond the primary goal of simply transporting people and provide customized services that meet individual needs."