After Raising Social Distancing to Level 2, Public Transportation Ridership Declines Twice as Much

Seoul City Reports Sharp Increase in Year-on-Year Decline Rate from 14.7% to 30.5%
Subway, with Larger Passenger Volume, Shows Greater Ridership Drop than Buses
Elderly Commuter Usage During Peak Hours Decreases by Only 4%... Need to Avoid Unnecessary Travel

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] After the elevation of 'social distancing' to level 2, the number of public transportation users in Seoul sharply decreased to a level close to the serious stage of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Seoul City announced on the 31st that, analyzing the changes in public transportation passengers since the 16th when social distancing in Seoul and Gyeonggi areas was raised to level 2, the year-on-year decrease rate of public transportation users expanded more than twice from 14.7% before the elevation to 30.5% after the elevation.

In particular, the decrease after the level 2 elevation is even greater than the 25.1% at the time of the 'Itaewon cluster outbreak' in May. This is interpreted as a result of changes in citizens' lifestyle patterns due to strengthened social distancing, such as expanded telecommuting, refraining from unnecessary outings, and avoiding crowded spaces.

Compared to the same period last year before the outbreak of COVID-19, public transportation usage dropped sharply by 30.5% on weekdays and 42.4% on weekends. Compared to before the elevation to social distancing level 2, the year-on-year decrease rate dropped by 15.9 percentage points on weekdays and 13.2 percentage points on weekends.

By mode of transport, bus usage decreased by 27.9% on weekdays and 37.3% on weekends year-on-year, and compared to before the elevation, the year-on-year decrease rate dropped by 13.5 percentage points on weekdays and 9.0 percentage points on weekends.

Subway usage decreased by 33.0% on weekdays and 47.1% on weekends year-on-year, and compared to before the elevation, the year-on-year decrease rate dropped by 18.2 percentage points on weekdays and 17.0 percentage points on weekends, showing a 4 to 10 percentage point larger decrease than buses.

Looking at user types, the year-on-year decrease rate of users was largest in the order of adolescents, elderly, and general public, and for the general public, the difference in decrease between weekdays and weekends (11.8%) was large due to weekday commuting demand.

By time of day, compared to before the level 2 elevation, the decrease was greater during off-peak hours (times with fewer passengers) than during commuting hours, and the decrease during the busiest morning commute was 7.8%, about one-quarter of the daily decrease of 30.5%. For the high-risk elderly group, the decrease in usage during the morning commute was only 4.0%.

Professor Lee Jae-gap of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Hallym University Gangnam Sacred Heart Hospital said, "Elderly people vulnerable to underlying diseases are at the highest risk of infection in crowded spaces, so even if they use public transportation, it is advisable to avoid crowded times." He added, "Using public transportation during the peak morning commute, when congestion is highest, can expose not only oneself but also those around to risk, and since congestion worsens during commuting hours, elderly people need to use less crowded times."

Hwang Bo-yeon, Director of Urban Transportation at Seoul City, urged, "At this critical time when we are promoting high-intensity social distancing to overcome the life-or-death COVID-19 crisis, including the operation of a 'Ten Million Citizens Stop Week,' please refrain from going out and meeting others as much as possible, and if unavoidable, use public transportation avoiding congested times."

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