Free Transfers Between All Modes and City Buses Starting in October
Hamo Call Bus Service Also to Launch
Jinju City in South Gyeongsang Province is making visible progress on the Jinju-style Future Mobility Project, the first of its kind in the country, by holding a project promotion report meeting and seminar ahead of its scheduled launch in October.
Jinju City hosted the "Jinju-style Future Mobility (MaaS, DRT) Project Promotion Report Meeting and Seminar" in collaboration with the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam branch of the Korean Society of Transportation, at the Citizens’ Hall on the second floor of City Hall.
The event, held on August 25, was attended by over 200 people, including city council members, community representatives, transportation industry officials, transportation workers, and mobility experts. The Jinju-style Future Mobility Project, which centers on a metropolitan free transfer system and the operation of call buses, drew significant interest from participants.
The report meeting and seminar, held under the theme "Current Status and Improvement Measures for the Jinju-style Future Mobility Project," were organized to review the progress of the "Jinju-style Integrated Mobility Service (MaaS)" and the "Hamo Call Bus (DRT: Demand Responsive Transport)" projects, both set to begin service and operation in October. The event also aimed to gather feedback from community representatives and experts to ensure the project is implemented quickly and efficiently.
During the first part, the project promotion report meeting, Min Soyoon, team leader at Tmoney Mobility, the MaaS platform provider, explained the "Jinju-style MaaS Integrated Mobility Service." This was followed by a business overview and progress report on the "Hamo Call Bus (DRT: Demand Responsive Transport)" delivered by Baek Bareum, director at Studio Galilei.
The main topics covered were: the Jinju-style MaaS metropolitan transfer mileage system; how to accumulate and use metropolitan transfer mileage; operational plans for each type of Hamo Call Bus; how to use the Hamo Call Bus; and guidance on improvements to the bus information system. After the presentations, there was an in-depth Q&A session with the attendees.
The metropolitan transfer mileage system of Jinju-style MaaS is a service that offers unlimited mileage accumulation worth 1,650 won when transferring to Jinju city buses after using any mode of transportation through Tmoney GO (the Jinju-style MaaS app). The Hamo Call Bus is a new demand-responsive public transportation option that allows users to request rides at affordable bus fares, similar to a call taxi.
In the second part, the seminar, Kangwon Shin, professor at Kyungsung University and head of the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam branch of the Korean Society of Transportation, served as moderator. Panelists included Donghan Kim, head of digital innovation at SR Corp.; Kijun Park, research fellow (Ph.D.) at Gyeongnam Research Institute; Yurim Jang, research fellow (Ph.D.) at Korea Transportation Safety Authority; and Minsu Cho, director at Iljin Transportation DRT. They shared a variety of perspectives and engaged in meaningful discussions on policy direction as well as practical improvement measures for implementation.
Mayor Cho Kyu-il stated, "The Jinju-style MaaS metropolitan transfer mileage system is the first of its kind in the nation, and the Hamo Call Bus is a new public transportation service that can address urban hollowing and regional depopulation. I ask that you ensure this service is convenient not only for our citizens but also for anyone across the country who visits Jinju."
Meanwhile, Jinju City plans to officially launch the Jinju-style MaaS and Hamo Call Bus services on October 1. Trial operations will be conducted prior to the formal opening and commencement of the service.
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