Incheon-Seoul Metropolitan Bus 'Quasi-Public Operation'... Operation Rate 53% to 70%, Dispatch Interval Reduced by 8 Minutes

Since Incheon City implemented the semi-public operation system for metropolitan buses to improve transportation convenience for citizens traveling to Seoul, the operation rate has significantly increased.

According to the city on the 18th, the number of operating buses increased from 179 at the time of the semi-public operation system introduction in October last year to 244 currently, raising the operation rate (the ratio of operating buses to licensed buses) from 53% to 70.3%.

As a result, the average interval between metropolitan buses during peak commuting hours was shortened by 8 minutes, and the average daily number of passengers increased by 21.7% (10,435 people), from 40,842 to 58,477.

The M6405 metropolitan bus operating on the Songdo International City?Gangnam Station route added 3 more vehicles after the semi-public operation system was implemented, increasing the daily number of trips from 56 to 68, an increase of 12 trips. The dispatch interval was shortened by more than 5 minutes, and the average daily number of passengers also increased by 1,120.

Until now, the Incheon?Seoul metropolitan buses showed an operation rate of less than 60% of the licensed number due to insufficient drivers caused by poor working conditions.

Incheon-Seoul Metropolitan Bus. Provided by Incheon City

To further strengthen accessibility to the metropolitan area, the city opened the M6461 (Soraepogu Station?Yeoksam Station) route this month and plans to start operating the M6659 (Geomdan Elementary School?Yeouido Complex Transfer Center) and M6660 (Geomdan Elementary School?Guro Digital Complex Station) routes within the first half of the year.

In addition, the city is improving on-site conditions to resolve inconveniences in using metropolitan buses and enhance citizen convenience. To this end, the remaining seat notification service will be completed by April, and bus notification services and bus stop maintenance will be finalized within the year.

An official from Incheon City stated, "We will promote additional bus increases aiming to achieve a 90% operation rate for metropolitan buses this year," and "We will operate the semi-public metropolitan bus system stably to strengthen citizens' transportation welfare."

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