Full Resumption of Hangang Bus Operations Postponed to February?March

Resumption Postponed from January Schedule
Reflecting Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Implementation Plan Requests

The full resumption of operations for all sections of the Hangang Bus has been postponed. The Seoul Metropolitan Government had previously announced that normal operations would resume in January, but decided to incorporate the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's requests for more detailed safety implementation plans.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on January 22, the city has changed the target date for resuming full operations of the Hangang Bus, originally set for January, to late February or early March.

Previously, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety conducted a joint inspection of the Hangang Bus from November 21 to 26 last year. During this process, the city submitted implementation plans and results for a total of 120 identified issues to the ministry on December 30. The city had planned to resume normal operations of the Hangang Bus in January of this year, but the schedule was delayed after the ministry requested further details on the implementation plans and supplementary results for the measures taken.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government stated that out of the 120 issues identified during the joint inspection, 89 have been resolved, and plans have been made to address 30 more by March. Specifically, among the issues related to the docks, 28 remain unaddressed. The city plans to allocate a budget to raise the dock railings and adjust their spacing by the end of March. For issues related to navigation routes and emergency response, the installation of additional pier lights and changes to the blinking method of bridge lights are also scheduled to be completed by the end of March. One recommendation in the vessel category, which calls for installing closed-circuit (CC) TV monitors inside vessels so that captains can directly monitor the docks and passenger movement during docking and undocking, will be implemented sequentially as the vessels undergo regular inspections. In addition to addressing the issues identified in the joint inspection, the city has also developed its own safety measures, including precision depth surveys and dredging of navigation sections, improvements to buoys in shallow water areas, and the establishment of a route deviation prevention system.

Currently, the Hangang Bus is only operating between Magok, Mangwon, and Yeouido, south of Hannam Bridge, due to a series of accidents and breakdowns. The upstream route from Hannam Bridge is not in operation. The upstream route has several sections where the water becomes shallow if the vessel deviates from the route. In November last year, a Hangang Bus ran aground near Jamsil Dock after leaving the designated route and entering a shallow area.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to add four more Hangang Buses in January and February to operate express routes during commuting hours. Unlike the existing route, which stops at seven docks, the express service will only stop at three docks: Magok, Yeouido, and Jamsil.