S-BRT Opening Soon as Planned... Changwon City: "Ensuring Timeliness to Compensate for Inconvenience"

Placement of Boarding Assistants Until Stabilization Period and Bus Speed Limited to 40

Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam announced its future operation plans for the premium trunk bus rapid transit system ‘S-BRT’ on Wonidaro, which will have a temporary opening on the 15th, aiming to dispel previous concerns and minimize inconvenience.

The premium trunk bus rapid transit system, Super BRT (SUPER-BRT), is an advanced version of the existing trunk BRT systems implemented in Seoul, Busan, and other cities, often referred to as a subway on the road.

The biggest difference from BRT is that the one-lane road in both directions has a dedicated S-BRT bus lane separated by curbs and green belts.

A bird's-eye view of the S-BRT section on Woni-daero, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam. [Provided by Changwon Special City Hall]

Following the pre-use approval by Gyeongnam Province on the 10th, Changwon City will start operating the S-BRT from the first bus at 5 a.m. on the 15th.

From this time, 339 city buses on 45 routes running along the 9.3 km section of Wonidaro S-BRT will operate on the dedicated BRT lanes with priority signal systems.

With the introduction of the bus-only driving lane, bus stops that were previously located at the roadside at the end of the two-way lanes have been relocated to central stops next to the RBT exclusive lane, requiring citizens to cross crosswalks to board the buses.

Jomyeongrae, the 2nd Deputy Mayor of Changwon City, is explaining the temporary opening of Woni-daero S-BRT.
[Photo by Lee Seryeong]

The city stated that the introduction of S-BRT will provide public transportation services with punctuality and safety.

To this end, from the early stages of opening until the system stabilizes, about 100 guides will be deployed around the changed bus stops to assist boarding and provide bus information.

The existing roadside bus stops will be improved for use as taxi or commuter bus stops.

Through professional agency surveys, the city will analyze bus and passenger car travel speeds, traffic volumes, and usage patterns before and after the opening, and will collaborate with the Gyeongnam Police Agency, Changwon Jungbu Police Station, and the Road Traffic Authority to monitor vehicle flow and bus usage environments.

Surveys will be conducted targeting bus, passenger car, and taxi drivers to obtain objective evaluations from actual road users and gather public opinion to quickly address inconveniences.

To ensure the safe operation of the initial S-BRT buses, the speed limit will be lowered to below 40 km/h. The city expects that bus drivers will need at least half a month to a month to adapt to the changed lanes and signal systems.

Since there have been significant citizen inconveniences regarding the Wonidaro S-BRT project, the city plans to further collect public opinions on the S-BRT project scheduled for 3.15-daero in the Masan area.

After confirming the effectiveness on Wonidaro, the city will analyze whether there is a synergistic effect when implementing S-BRT on both roads and evaluate road operation efficiency to decide the timing and direction of the project.

Additionally, horizontal boarding and alighting stops matching the bus boarding height will be introduced, and central stops will be equipped with air conditioning and heated seats for cooling and heating facilities.

In June, a contactless (tagless) payment system that allows fare payment without tapping a card or mobile phone will be gradually introduced.

In the future, the city plans to install trams on the road surface and establish a public transportation system centered on trams with BRT as a supplementary mode.

Afterward, the city will submit a completion report to the province to receive the province’s final completion confirmation and announcement, completing the project implementation procedures.

Jo Myeong-rae, the second vice mayor, said, “We apologize for the inconvenience caused by traffic congestion during the S-BRT construction,” and added, “We will do our best to provide public transportation services with punctuality comparable to subways.”

He continued, “For the 3.15-daero S-BRT project, building public consensus among citizens must come first for the project to proceed,” and added, “We will carefully analyze the effectiveness after the opening of Wonidaro and reflect it in future projects.”

He also urged, “Since BRT characteristics mean that accidents can lead to large-scale consequences, speeding is absolutely prohibited,” and requested, “Not only bus drivers but also general vehicle drivers should pay special attention to avoid confusion by following the changed signal system.”

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