From the 20th, No Use of Public Transportation in Incheon Without Wearing a Mask

Hand Sanitizers Installed at Bus Stops Near Schools
Reevaluation of Resuming Wolmi Bada Train Operations

Incheon Subway Disinfection Work
Photo by Incheon City

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Starting from the 20th, wearing a mask will be mandatory when taking the subway, bus, or taxi in Incheon.

Incheon City announced on the 17th that due to the recent spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) from the Itaewon clubs in Seoul to the metropolitan area, and concerns about silent transmission within public transportation used by unspecified many people, it will restrict the use of public transportation without masks starting from the 20th.

The city is particularly cautious about cluster infections within the subway and strongly recommends mask-wearing to passengers. It also plans to consider issuing administrative orders if the risk of community transmission increases.

Additionally, the city plans to monitor subway conditions and adjust train intervals to prevent crowding.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the average congestion rate of the Incheon subway has been below 50% on Line 1 and below 60% on Line 2, meaning passengers usually use the service in a non-crowded environment. However, the city will closely monitor the rising trend in ridership and establish additional plans accordingly.

For buses and taxis, operators will not be penalized for refusing boarding to passengers without masks until the infectious disease alert level is downgraded from 'serious' to 'caution.'

Due to citizens' strong participation in social distancing, subway and bus ridership in March this year decreased by about 35% compared to the same period last year. However, as an increase in public transportation users is expected and routes span the metropolitan area, the city will intensively promote daily quarantine guidelines that passengers and workers must follow.

The user guidelines include ▲ sitting one seat apart when using the subway or bus (maintaining as much distance as possible from others) ▲ wearing masks and refraining from conversation ▲ using the next vehicle if the current one is crowded, if possible.

For public transportation workers and managers, the guidelines include ▲ guiding passengers to wear masks and maintain distancing ▲ ventilating vehicles before and after operation ▲ regularly monitoring congestion during peak hours and flexibly adjusting dispatch intervals ▲ assigning seats to maintain distance between passengers ▲ encouraging automatic fare payment methods (contactless payment, app payment) ▲ promoting preventive measures through electronic signboards and announcements.

Furthermore, the city plans to expand the placement of hand sanitizers, which were previously available inside buses and taxis, to bus stops. Initially, hand sanitizers will be installed at bus stops near over 520 elementary, middle, and high schools to allow students who frequently use public transportation to use them.

The city will also carefully reconsider whether to resume operations of densely populated facilities such as the Wolmi Sea Train and the Incheon Transportation Training Center.

An Incheon city official stated, "The participation of all citizens is crucial to prevent community transmission," and urged, "Although it may be inconvenient, please be sure to wear a mask when using public transportation."

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