"People Leaving Work After 9 PM Face Challenges" Seoul City Bus Service Reduced... Citizens 'Bewildered'

Seoul City Buses Reduce Service After 9 PM Starting Today (31st)
Civilians Concerned "What About Commutes After 9 PM?"
Seoul City: "Reductions Only to Minimize Daily Life Disruptions"
Experts Warn "Bus Crowding Before 9 PM Raises COVID-19 Infection Risks"

Citizens are using city buses around the Seoul Station Bus Transfer Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. The photo is not related to any specific expressions in the article. Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy reporters Seunggon Han and intern Seulgi Kim] As Seoul City has started to reduce city bus operations after 9 p.m. to encourage social distancing, some citizens have expressed confusion, saying it could disrupt their daily lives. Critics point out that the reduced bus service not only fails to encourage early returns home but also increases inconvenience for citizens commuting after 9 p.m. due to fewer bus runs.

The city stated that owl buses and village buses will continue operating as usual to minimize inconvenience for citizens. Experts have expressed concerns that citizens might crowd the buses before the reduced operation hours.

According to Seoul City on the 31st, from that day until the 6th of next month, city bus operations after 9 p.m. will be reduced to 80% of normal levels, operating at weekend levels.

The city announced that nighttime operations on 325 routes will decrease from 4,554 runs to 3,641 runs. However, 20 congested routes, owl buses, and village buses are excluded from the reduction.

At a regular briefing on the 30th, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters stated, "Seoul City will reduce city bus operations after 9 p.m. from the 31st to the 6th of next month to encourage citizens to return home early."

The problem lies in the inconvenience for workers commuting during these hours. Some citizens also expressed concerns that their afternoon activities might be affected.

A nurse A (26) working at a university hospital in Seoul said, "For workers like us on 3-shift or 4-shift schedules, 9 p.m. can be either the start or end of a shift. If city buses are reduced after 9 p.m., what will happen to people like us working shifts?" She could not hide her confusion.

She added, "Is the bus the only means of transportation in Seoul? There are subways and taxis too, but the idea that reducing city bus operations after 9 p.m. will encourage early returns home is absurd. Instead of imposing stricter regulations on multi-use facilities where nighttime crowds gather, reducing the 'citizens' feet,' the city buses, is incomprehensible," she criticized.

On the 24th, officials are disinfecting at the garages of city buses 6512 and 5618 in Guro-gu. The bus operation was temporarily suspended after a confirmed case was reported among the company's bus drivers the previous day. The photo is unrelated to any specific expressions by the drivers. Photo by Yonhap News.

Another worker B (24), who wished to remain anonymous, also expressed anxiety, saying, "If city bus operations are reduced, won't the intervals between buses get longer? It will be very inconvenient. I get off work after 10 p.m. I’m already anxious thinking about how crowded the subway and buses will be."

Amid citizens' complaints about the reduced bus operations during these hours, the city explained that some bus routes will continue operating as usual to avoid causing harm to citizens.

Jung Changwook, a manager in the Bus Policy Division of Seoul City's Transportation Planning Office, told Asia Economy, "The intervals between buses will be delayed by about 2 to 5 minutes compared to usual. There are not many routes where the interval extends up to 10 minutes, and since subways, owl buses, and village buses are not subject to reduction, we believe there will be no significant inconvenience to citizens' daily lives."

Manager Jung added, "We will continue monitoring to ensure no inconvenience to citizens commuting to and from work. Since some citizens go out occasionally in the evening or enjoy leisure activities, this policy is implemented as part of the 'Ten Million Citizens Pause Week' to encourage cooperation."

According to Seoul City, 10 main bus routes with high evening ridership (more than 36 passengers per run, congestion rate 80%)?routes 102, 108, 152, 420, 421, 461, 602, 603, 641, and 643?and 10 branch bus routes (1135, 1224, 3011, 4212, 5515, 5516, 5523, 6627, 6716, and 7612) are excluded from the reduction.

Also, owl buses and village buses that operate only at night are excluded from the reduction. After implementing the reduction, the city will continuously monitor passenger numbers and adjust the scale of reduction to manage congestion inside vehicles if necessary.

City buses are operating at the Seoul Station Bus Transfer Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. The photo is not related to any specific expressions in the article. Photo by Asia Economy DB

Experts have expressed concerns that, given the current situation where the total number of commuters has not decreased, side effects like the 'balloon effect' may occur.

Professor Woojoo Kim, an infectious disease specialist at Korea University Guro Hospital, told Asia Economy, "If city bus operations are reduced after 9 p.m. without a decrease in overall commuters, citizens will likely crowd buses before 9 p.m. This will increase the density and congestion of buses before 9 p.m., raising the risk of COVID-19 infection. This is the so-called 'balloon effect.'"

Professor Kim added, "Currently, the government and Seoul City are preparing measures equivalent to social distancing level 3. This means they recognize the seriousness of the situation. Since they are not implementing level 3 distancing but want the effect of level 3, such irregular policies are emerging. Ultimately, the inconvenience will fall on the citizens," he criticized.

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