Bus-Only Lanes Along Busan Streets to Be Revamped... Revising Ineffective Operating Hours and Sections After 20 Years

From June, Evening Commute Changed to 5 PM?7 PM, Morning Commute Remains Unchanged

Since First Introduced in 1987, Reflecting BRT Expansion and Urban Traffic Changes

Busan City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Busan City (Mayor Park Hyung-jun) will reorganize the operating hours and sections of curbside bus-only lanes starting June 1.

Busan City announced on the 11th that the operating hours of curbside bus-only lanes will remain from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. during the morning rush hour, while the evening rush hour will be shortened to 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The previous evening rush hour operation, which ran from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., has been shortened by one hour to realistically reflect the congestion levels on downtown roads during the evening commute.

This is the first time since the curbside bus-only lane system was introduced in 1987 that the operating hours have been changed.

This decision was made in preparation for new traffic patterns, as major routes such as Haeundae-ro, Chungnyeol-daero, and Jungang-daero (34 km) among the total bus-only lanes in Busan (123.12 km) have been converted to full-time BRT (Bus Rapid Transit), and with the planned opening of the Seomyeon~Chungmu and Seomyeon~Sasang BRT lines (26.6 km) by the end of next year, half of the total bus-only lanes will be composed of BRT.

Regarding the operating section, the 2-lane one-way road structure of Jagalchi-ro (L=1 km) has been judged ineffective due to constant parking and stopping vehicles, and thus the bus-only lane will be abolished.

Since the afternoon operating time will start 30 minutes earlier, Busan City will suspend enforcement against violations of bus-only lane traffic during the period from 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. for three months until the end of August this year to prevent confusion among citizens. Additionally, sign maintenance and public awareness campaigns will be strengthened.

Park Jin-ok, Director of the Busan City Transportation Bureau, said, “This comprehensive reorganization reflects the fact that an average of 20 years has passed since the curbside bus-only lane system was implemented and appropriately reflects changes in urban traffic conditions such as BRT. We will continue to pursue traffic policies that meet citizens’ expectations.”

Last November, Busan City discussed measures for key issues in transportation policy, including the efficient operation of curbside bus-only lanes, through advisory meetings involving experts, civic groups, and related organizations, as well as practical meetings with district and county transportation chiefs.

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