"Urgent Need for Integrated Metropolitan Public Transportation System"... Proposal to Introduce Special Local Government

Incheon City Holds Policy Forum on December 4

There has been a proposal for Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province to establish a "Special Local Government for Public Transportation" in order to address the complex transportation issues in the metropolitan area.

On December 4, Incheon City held a policy forum in the city hall's video conference room under the theme of "Establishing an Integrated Metropolitan Public Transportation Management System."

At the event, Dr. Geum Changho from the Korea Institute for Policy Analysis presented the necessity and practical measures for introducing a special local government dedicated to metropolitan public transportation. Dr. Geum pointed out, "With current policies being implemented only at the individual city and provincial level, it is difficult to establish an integrated metropolitan transportation policy that covers express buses, transfer systems, fare settlements, and urban rail connectivity, as these issues extend beyond administrative boundaries."

He went on to say, "As an alternative, we need to introduce a special local government that possesses legal status and is able to handle limited and collaborative administrative functions. This entity should be responsible for metropolitan transportation policy in the Seoul metropolitan area and ensure effective policy implementation."

Through the establishment of a special metropolitan public transportation government, the authority currently held by the Metropolitan Transport Commission (MTC) under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport-such as setting metropolitan transportation plans, project coordination, and financial support-would be transferred, allowing local governments to take the lead in these matters.

Express Bus. Yonhap News

Experts, including Dr. Seok Jongsoo from the Incheon Institute who participated in the discussion, also pointed out that it is difficult to implement efficient policies due to differences in public transportation policies among the three metropolitan governments, and agreed on the urgent need to establish an integrated management system.

Choi Wongu, Director of the Incheon City Administrative Innovation Division, who proposed this forum, emphasized, "The metropolitan area functions as a single living and transportation zone that transcends administrative boundaries, so it is necessary to establish an integrated public transportation management system. Each local government should actively respond to ensure that discussions on introducing a special local government lead to the development of effective metropolitan transportation measures."

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