Jo Eung-cheon Proposes Amendments to the 'Metropolitan Transportation Act' and 'Bus Rapid Transit Act'

Cho Eung-cheon, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] On the 26th, Cho Eung-cheon, a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee and a representative of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced that he had introduced the amendment bills for the 'Metropolitan Transportation Act' and the 'Main Line Express Bus Act' to expand the installation of transfer facilities and bus-only lanes in the metropolitan area.

A staff member from Cho's office analyzed, "On average, 2.83 million people commute daily in the metropolitan area, but there is a lack of transfer facilities that can connect public transportation such as railroads and buses, causing increased inconvenience for citizens. However, since the expansion of transfer facilities has mostly been led by local governments, difficulties in securing funding and differing opinions among local governments have led to sluggish project progress."

The bill proposed by Cho includes provisions to address these issues by expanding the scope of national funding support, which was previously limited to transfer center construction projects led by local governments, to include transfer center construction projects promoted by public institutions and local public enterprises such as the Korea Expressway Corporation and Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL).

Additionally, for transfer centers used by residents of multiple local governments within the metropolitan area, the bill establishes a basis for not only the jurisdictional local government but also the local governments to which the users of the transfer and BRT facilities belong to share the costs, thereby distributing the financial burden among local governments.

Cho said, "There is a need to actively promote the construction of transfer centers at major hubs to enable citizens to use public transportation more conveniently, which is why I proposed this amendment. I hope that the cost-sharing basis among local governments included in this amendment will serve as a catalyst for many local governments to take the lead in alleviating the commuting difficulties of metropolitan citizens."

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