Gwangju City, Thorough 'City Bus Disinfection' Amid Omicron Spread

Disinfection Conducted 2 to 4 Times Daily... Emergency Transport Measures Also Implemented

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Gwangju Metropolitan City is expanding disinfection of city buses and implementing an 'Emergency Transportation Plan' to ensure citizens can use public transportation safely amid the rapid spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

According to Gwangju City on the 10th, the disinfection and sterilization of city buses, previously conducted once daily after operation, will be increased to 2 to 4 times.

Disinfection supplies such as disinfectants and masks will be additionally provided to all 1,044 city buses, bus garages, and transportation workers.

To this end, four professional disinfection companies have been selected to station disinfection personnel at public garages and turnaround points. They will disinfect city buses and garages after operation, and promote compliance with disinfection guidelines to citizens using bus destination signs and route boards.

City bus companies conduct daily temperature checks on transportation workers before operating vehicles.

Drivers wear masks while driving, and spare masks and hand sanitizers are provided inside buses.

Additionally, an emergency transportation plan has been prepared to prevent suspension of city bus operations in case of emergencies such as driver infections.

About 300 retired drivers have been secured as substitute personnel, and depending on the situation, plans include deploying charter buses, lifting taxi restrictions, and extending operation hours of urban rail and village buses to distribute passengers to other public transportation.

Hwang In-chae, Director of Public Transportation at the city, said, “We are striving to provide the best service to citizens using city buses,” and added, “We hope citizens treat transportation workers like family and strictly follow disinfection guidelines such as wearing masks when using city buses.”

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