Guro-gu Supports Village Bus Transportation Companies

Establishment of 'Village Bus Emergency Transport Measures'... Joint Response by Village Bus Operators Including Emergency Dispatch of Transport Workers and District Financial Support... Meetings Held Since October Last Year for Opinion Exchange, Support for Enactment of Guro-gu Village Bus Support Ordinance in December

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] “We protect our neighborhood village buses!”

Guro-gu (District Mayor Lee Seong) has signed a support agreement with local village bus transportation companies struggling due to COVID-19.

Guro-gu stated on the 23rd, “In the event of a statutory infectious disease outbreak, village bus transportation companies with poor financial conditions find it difficult to resolve the situation alone,” adding, “Therefore, we have established a plan for local transportation companies to respond jointly and signed the ‘Guro-gu Village Bus Emergency Transport Measures’ agreement to support this.”

The ‘Village Bus Emergency Transport Measures’ agreement aims to minimize inconvenience to residents using public transportation by dispatching transportation workers urgently among local village buses and providing financial support from Guro-gu in case of emergencies such as statutory infectious diseases.

To this end, since October last year, Guro-gu held several meetings with local village bus transportation companies to listen to difficulties and exchange opinions.

In December, the Seoul Guro-gu Village Bus Support Ordinance was enacted to provide a legal basis for support.

Through these efforts, Guro-gu successfully led the signing of the ‘Village Bus Emergency Transport Measures’ agreement with eight local village bus transportation companies for joint response. To prevent COVID-19, the agreement was conducted in writing without a separate ceremony.

According to the agreement, Guro-gu will support part of the wages for dispatched transportation workers and actively discuss financial issues arising from reduced operation rates of the dispatching companies with the city.

Among transportation companies, it was agreed to treat dispatched employees the same as head office employees regarding wages, insurance, and other matters.

Also, considering the characteristics of village bus routes with narrow and steep alleys and hills and the safety of residents, it was promised that dispatched employees implementing the emergency transport measures would operate without passengers on the first day but receive the same wages.

A Guro-gu official said, “We hope this agreement will help village bus transportation companies struggling due to COVID-19,” and added, “We will do our best to support the smooth operation of village buses that serve as the ‘feet of residents’ throughout every corner of the neighborhood.”

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