Busan City Awarded for 'Sustainable Transport City'

Ministry of Land's Comprehensive Evaluation Report: First Local Government to Win 3 Consecutive Years
'Busan Safe Speed 5030' Policy Also Wins Best Policy Award

A flash mob scene from the Safe Speed 5030 campaign promoted by Busan City.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Busan City received the grand prize in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's ‘2020 Sustainable Transport City Evaluation.’ This marks the third consecutive year Busan has won the grand prize.

The Sustainable Transport City Evaluation, conducted annually since 2014 under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, selects local governments that have implemented outstanding transport policies for sustainable development in the transportation sector, in accordance with the ‘Sustainable Transport and Logistics Development Act.’

Seventy-five cities with populations over 100,000 are divided into four groups based on size and characteristics. External experts evaluate a total of 32 indicators, including environmental, social, and economic attributes and efforts in the transportation sector of each city, to select excellent local governments.

Busan City received high evaluation scores across all areas, including ▲promotion of eco-friendly transportation means ▲strengthening of transportation demand management ▲improvement of pedestrian environments ▲creation of traffic safety and infrastructure, earning the highest award in the special and metropolitan city group.

Busan set a historic record as the first city nationwide to win the grand prize for three consecutive years. Additionally, in the Best Practice Competition, the ‘Busan Safe Speed 5030’ policy won the top policy award. This recognition affirms Busan as a leading advanced transportation city nationwide.

This achievement is explained as the result of Busan City's efforts to shift from vehicle-centered transportation policies to those focused on ‘people, safety, and walking.’

To transform into a public transportation-centered city, Busan announced a public transportation innovation plan in 2018, comprising 34 tasks across five areas.

The city has been implementing various policies such as expanding the urban rail network, innovating the quasi-public operation system for city buses, establishing BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) lanes, citywide implementation of Safe Speed 5030, and pioneering services like Mama Call (a taxi service exclusively for pregnant women) and preferential systems for elderly drivers voluntarily surrendering their licenses.

Byun Sung-wan, Acting Mayor of Busan, stated, “Winning the grand prize for three consecutive years is a result achieved through the collective efforts of Busan citizens,” and added, “We will devote our efforts to realizing a sustainable transport city that considers future generations.”

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