Expressway Toll Exemption Granted to Express and Intercity Buses Facing Crisis Due to COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 18th that the 'Highway Toll Exemption Plan' for route buses was approved at the Cabinet meeting on the same day.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has been promoting a plan to temporarily exempt tolls for route buses entering and exiting all highways to support public transportation operating on designated routes despite a sharp decline of about 70-80% in passengers of express and intercity buses due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

With the approval of the exemption plan on this day, the toll exemption measure will be implemented from 0:00 on the 19th. The end point is 24:00 on the day when the COVID-19 crisis alert level changes from 'serious' to 'caution.' However, even if the alert level is lowered earlier, the exemption measure will be implemented for at least one month until the 18th of next month.

During the period when the route bus toll exemption measure is in effect, tolls on highways will also be exempted for vehicles operated by medical personnel within Daegu and Gyeongbuk. The target areas include 16 service areas in special disaster zones such as Bukdaegu, Seodaegu, Namdaegu, Gyeongsan, and Cheongdo. The government plans to exempt tolls or provide refunds when medical personnel such as doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, clinical pathologists, and radiologists present a 'Medical Personnel Certificate' issued to them at the time of toll payment.

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