Seoul City Reduces Public Transportation Operations After 10 PM... Subway Ridership Down 40%, Bus Ridership Down 24%

Seoul City Implements 20% Nighttime Reduction in Public Transportation to Prevent COVID-19 Spread... Bus from 8th, Subway from 9th
Emergency Standby Trains Deployed During Congestion? Active Measures Including Bus Service Restoration and Increase... Minimizing Citizen Inconvenience

On the 12th, when the Level 4 social distancing measures were implemented in the Seoul metropolitan area, commuters hurried along wearing masks at Gwanghwamun Station on Subway Line 5 in Seoul. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, Level 4 in the metropolitan area will be enforced from midnight on that day until midnight on the 25th, for two weeks. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 18th that as a result of implementing nighttime reductions in public transportation to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and strengthen social distancing, the number of passengers using the subway, buses, and village buses decreased by 40%, 20%, and 20%, respectively.

This reduction in operation was implemented with a 20% cut in late-night services to raise public awareness, while adjusting operations in stages to minimize increased congestion and inconvenience to citizens who must travel.

In response to the spread of COVID-19, Seoul Subway has been implementing a 20% reduction in operations after 10 p.m. since the 9th, in line with social distancing levels. The number of reduced trips varies by line, but overall, 33 trips were cut, representing about 20.7%. Lines 5 and 7 reduced operations starting from the 12th due to adjustments in train schedules for extended sections in Gyeonggi and Incheon, while Line 1 did not reduce operations to maintain intervals for intercity sections in Gyeonggi and Incheon.

After the nighttime reduction was implemented, subway ridership after 10 p.m. decreased from 204,000 to 122,000, a 40.2% drop, and ridership after 11 p.m. decreased from 37,000 to 22,000, a 41.5% decrease. Congestion after 10 p.m. dropped from 71.0% to 54.4%, a 16.6 percentage point decrease, and congestion after 11 p.m. decreased from 36.2% to 29.2%, a 7.0 percentage point reduction.

Seoul City stated, "After the train reductions were implemented after 10 p.m., congestion levels were all below 60%, allowing all passengers to be seated or some standing, which is a favorable level," and added, "We will continue to monitor the subway operations and actively manage congestion by deploying emergency standby trains on sections where congestion increases due to passenger concentration, operating flexibly."

Buses, including city buses and village buses, reduced operations by 20% after 10 p.m. starting from the 8th. For city buses, out of 2,470 daily trips across 325 routes, about 495 trips have been cut, operating 1,975 trips. As a result, compared to no nighttime reduction, the number of passengers after 10 p.m. decreased by 19.2%, and after 11 p.m. by 25.4%.

For village buses, out of 28,287 daily trips across 249 routes, about 490 trips have been cut, operating 27,797 trips. Consequently, compared to no nighttime reduction, passenger numbers after 10 p.m. decreased by 26.3%, and after 11 p.m. by 32.9%.

Regarding congestion, city buses showed a 2.9 percentage point decrease in onboard congestion rates compared to no reduction, and village buses showed a 2.6 percentage point decrease, indicating a very favorable level. Seoul City will monitor the operation status during nighttime reductions and will resume normal operations on routes where congestion exceeds 80% for more than two weeks to alleviate citizen inconvenience.

Baek Ho, Director of Urban Transportation, said, “Until COVID-19 ends, we will create a safe Seoul public transportation system with thorough quarantine and safety management so that citizens can use it with peace of mind,” and added, “We ask citizens to also observe social distancing by refraining from going out and meeting others as much as possible.”

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