Jeonbuk Province Expands Fare Support for Island Residents' Passenger Ships

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Jeonbuk Province announced on the 23rd that support for passenger fares and freight vehicle fares under 5 tons in island residents' living areas will be expanded.

The coastal passenger ship system, implemented from this year, features improvements in six areas, including expanding fare support for island residents who frequently use passenger ships and simplifying boarding procedures.

Specifically, to improve the living conditions of island residents and reduce transportation costs, from January 1 of this year, support for short-distance living area passenger ship fares and the most frequently used freight vehicle fares under 5 tons, such as for transporting daily necessities, will be expanded from the existing 20% to 50%.

With the expansion of passenger fare support, the passenger fares borne by island residents will be reduced, for example, from 5,000 KRW to 3,000 KRW on the Gunsan~Gaeyado route and from 3,300 KRW to 1,100 KRW on the Gyeokpo~Wido route, easing transportation cost burdens.

The support targets are residents registered on the island for more than 30 days and vehicles with 100% island resident ownership.

Second, from the first half of this year, the simplified boarding procedure system for island residents using photo information will be expanded.

Until now, island residents complained about the inconvenience of repeatedly presenting identification when purchasing tickets and boarding passenger ships. If they pre-store their photo information in the island resident fare support system, the ticketing staff can verify their identity by matching the photo information in the computer system with the actual person, replacing the ID verification process and making passenger ship use more convenient for island residents.

A pilot project was conducted for Ongjin County residents until the end of last year, and from this year, it will be gradually expanded to local governments that wish to participate.

Third, the mobile passenger ship boarding pass system will be expanded, eliminating the inconvenience of having to issue physical boarding passes.

Passengers can reserve and issue boarding passes through the "Islands I Want to Visit" (internet or mobile app), and the boarding pass will be displayed on their smartphones, removing the hassle of presenting ID and issuing tickets at the counter, making usage more convenient.

Fourth, the scan-based boarding management system will be fully implemented to manage passenger ship boarding status in real time.

This system reads the QR code on the boarding pass with a scanner when passengers board, allowing real-time confirmation of boarding status and passenger numbers, enabling accurate management of boarding status. In case of an accident, it will be possible to accurately identify the boarding status. It is also expected to reduce the burden on shipping companies managing passenger lists compared to manual management.

Fifth, infant life jackets will be mandatorily equipped on coastal passenger ships.

Until last year, only adult and child life jackets were provided, but from this year, it will be mandatory to additionally equip infant life jackets amounting to at least 2.5% of the passenger capacity to ensure infant safety in emergencies.

Sixth, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will support the installation costs of mobility convenience facilities for transportation-vulnerable persons on coastal passenger ships to create an environment accessible to all.

This year, wheelchair boarding facilities, restrooms for the disabled, and seats for transportation-vulnerable persons will be prioritized for installation on 26 national treasury passenger ships operating on auxiliary routes (3 routes in Gunsan), and from next year, 50% of installation costs will be supported for coastal passenger ships operating on general routes (1 route in Buan).

Choi Jae-yong, Director of the Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Bureau of Jeonbuk Province, said, “Through the coastal passenger ship system changes starting this year, we expect that maritime transportation conditions in island areas will improve, enabling island residents and transportation-vulnerable persons to use coastal passenger ships more conveniently and safely.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.