Highway Traffic Volume Decreases After 'Level 2.5' Implementation... Also Declined at Year-End

341 Million Users on the Last Day of 2020
Over 30% Decrease Compared to Jeonju
Below 5 Million Users Since December 11

Reference photo of Seoul Tollgate on the Gyeongbu Expressway.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] Following the escalation to social distancing level 2.5 amid the third wave of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), highway traffic volume has noticeably decreased. In particular, the significant drop in movement at the end of last year ahead of the New Year is analyzed as a sign of heightened public awareness.

According to the highway public data portal on the 2nd, the total highway traffic volume on December 31, the last day of 2020, was recorded at 3,411,786 vehicles. This represents a 30.7% decrease compared to 4,925,748 vehicles on Christmas Eve (December 24), the day before the three-day holiday started the previous week. During the Christmas holiday (December 25?27), highway traffic volumes were 3,598,503, 3,723,233, and 3,116,769 vehicles respectively, remaining around 3 million vehicles.

Since the upgrade to social distancing level 2.5, highway traffic volume has significantly declined. After the first implementation on the 8th of last month, the volume reached 5,021,543 vehicles on Friday the 11th, but there has not been a single day exceeding 5 million vehicles since then. Typically, highway traffic volume is highest on Fridays and Saturdays, drops sharply on Sundays, and then slightly rises on Mondays, maintaining a similar level through Thursday. Normally, highway traffic volume stays around 4 million vehicles, occasionally exceeding 5 million.

For this year-end and New Year period, December 25 (Christmas) and January 1 (New Year's Day) were public holidays, making Thursday the only weekday to estimate actual traffic volume. Despite the year-end characteristic that could have increased highway traffic due to activities like sunrise viewing, the decrease compared to the previous week is regarded as a positive indicator in terms of social distancing.

It is still too early to be complacent. As of midnight on the 2nd, the number of new domestic COVID-19 cases was recorded at 824. Although it fell below 1,000, this may be a temporary phenomenon due to reduced testing during the holidays. The government decided to extend social distancing measures for two more weeks until the 17th of this month, maintaining level 2.5 in the metropolitan area and level 2 in non-metropolitan areas.

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