Gyeonggi-do City Bus Public Management System 'Starts'... 1,200 Buses to Operate This Year

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is delivering a greeting at the 'City Bus Public Management System Launch Ceremony' held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office on the 10th.

Gyeonggi Province held the launch ceremony for the ‘City Bus Public Management System’ on the 10th and officially began its implementation.

The City Bus Public Management System is a Gyeonggi Province-type quasi-public operation system focused on strengthening public management of city buses. Gyeonggi Province conducts a comprehensive evaluation of safety management and user service improvement on a route-by-route basis every year and decides whether to renew the public management system every three years. The core of the public management system is to enhance public interest and transparency.

Once the public management system is implemented, bus companies will stabilize their management, and transportation workers will see improved working conditions. Additionally, residents will be able to use buses that are friendlier, safer, and arrive on time.

On the 10th, Gyeonggi Province held the ‘City Bus Public Management System Launch Ceremony’ at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office, attended by about 200 people including the Gyeonggi Province Bus Labor Union Council, Gyeonggi Province Bus Transport Business Association and labor unions, and bus company executives and employees.

Starting with 1,200 city buses within the province this year, Gyeonggi Province plans to convert all 6,200 city buses across the province to the public management system by 2027. This year’s target routes for the city bus public management system include 700 buses on ‘inter-city/county routes’ operated across two or more cities/counties managed by Gyeonggi Province, and 500 buses on ‘intra-city/county routes’ operated within a single city/county managed by each city/county.

Among the 700 ‘inter-city/county routes,’ 545 buses currently in operation will be selected and converted to the public management system starting this month. The remaining 155 buses will be promoted through a route bidding process in the first half of this year after conducting a demand survey for new routes by city/county.

For the ‘intra-city/county routes’ managed by each city/county, the routes subject to the public management system will be selected independently by each city/county after comprehensively considering administrative and financial conditions and user demand, and will be implemented in the first half of this year.

From the time the public management system is implemented, vehicles on routes that pass through other provinces among the ‘inter-city/county routes’ and ‘intra-city/county routes’ will be painted blue. Vehicles on routes operating only within a single city/county will be painted green.

To reduce the financial burden of operating the city bus public management system, Gyeonggi Province plans to efficiently reorganize routes, gradually reduce financial support for the private system, cut unnecessary budget allocations, and minimize overlapping financial support.

Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, said, "I am pleased to keep the promise of implementing the Gyeonggi Province-type quasi-public operation system," and promised, "With today’s launch as a starting point, we will implement the public management system for buses throughout Gyeonggi Province by 2027."

He further emphasized, "We will accelerate improvements in the treatment and working conditions of bus workers and environmental improvements," and added, "We share a common goal of contributing to improving the quality of life for residents. I hope we can move forward together by joining forces."

Additionally, he stated, "Another achievement gained through this process is the trust built between parties. Gyeonggi Province is working for the residents while practicing cooperative governance in a situation where the ruling and opposition parties are evenly split. Through discussing, compromising, and cooperating on many policies, we were able to confirm the trust built between each other," and expressed expectations, saying, "The formation of trust among the bus industry labor and management, the ruling and opposition parties in the provincial council, and between the province and cities/counties will be the cornerstone for creating an opportunity-filled Gyeonggi Province in the future."

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