Gimhae City "Will Stop Bus Strike Until the End" ... Emergency Transport Vehicles to Be Deployed if Negotiations Fail

Gyeongnam Gimhae City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] Gimhae City, Gyeongnam Province, will deploy emergency transport vehicles in preparation for the scheduled suspension of city bus operations on the 18th.

The city plans to operate a total of 25 vehicles, including 20 charter buses, 2 church buses, and 3 official vehicles, on four temporary routes within the jurisdiction starting from 6 a.m. on the day the strike is implemented.

The four temporary routes are ▲ Jinyeong Intercity Terminal ∼ Samgye Seohee Apartment ▲ Samgye Seohee Apartment ∼ Palpan Village Complex 1 Apartment ▲ Juchon Seoncheon District ∼ Sambang Market ∼ Juchon Seoncheon District ▲ Juchon Seoncheon District ∼ Saengnim Nonghyup (Massage Parlor).

The light rail will increase the number of trips by 12 during rush hours, raising the weekday service from 394 to 406 trips, and the driving restrictions on 1,541 commercial taxis will be fully lifted, adding 274 taxis daily.

The city stated that although it intended to lease charter buses as emergency transport vehicles to minimize citizen inconvenience, it was difficult to secure leases due to increased domestic tourism demand following the COVID-19 lifting and student school trips.

According to the city, the strike scheduled for the day after the 2023 College Scholastic Ability Test will be carried out by the unions of three of the four city bus companies in Gimhae: Gaya IBS, Dongbu Transportation, and Taeyoung Express.

The labor and management parties have been negotiating since October 4 to conclude the 2023 wage and collective agreement, and after applying for mediation at the Gyeongnam Regional Labor Relations Commission on October 12, the third mediation meeting on November 11 resulted in a suspension of mediation.

The union side decided to operate buses until the day of the college entrance exam considering the inconvenience to examinees and plans to attempt negotiations again at a post-mediation meeting on the 17th.

If the mediation meeting fails on that day, 140 buses on 28 routes operated by three companies including Gaya IBS will stop running from the first trip on the 18th.

Thirty routes with 56 buses of Gimhae BUS and 10 routes with 108 buses operated by Busan and Changwon buses in Gimhae City will operate normally.

The city plans to respond to minimize citizen inconvenience by promoting emergency transport measures and establishing an emergency transport situation room headed by the Director of the Safety, Construction, and Transportation Bureau.

Detailed information such as the routes and operating times of emergency transport vehicles will be posted on the city’s website and promoted through the Gimhae City Traffic Information Center, SNS, city bus stops, and Bus Information System (BIS).

A city official said, “There are limits to smooth transportation with emergency transport measures alone, so citizen inconvenience is inevitable. We ask citizens to use alternative transportation such as the light rail or carpool. We will continue dialogue and persuasion to withdraw the strike until the last moment and do our best to minimize citizen inconvenience by mobilizing all administrative power.”

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