Gwangmyeong City Adds and Launches New Buses, Easing Morning Commutes to Seoul Including Gwangmyeong–Yeouido

Gwangmyeong's Bus Policy Yields Data-Backed Results
Congestion on Yeouido Routes Drops by Up to 62 Percentage Points
Mayor Seungwon Park: "We Will Build an Even More Comprehensive Transit Network"

Gwangmyeong City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Seungwon Park) has reported clear results from its new bus route launches and increased bus frequency policies this year, which have significantly reduced commute congestion for citizens traveling to destinations such as Yeouido and Guro.

Gwangmyeong City (Mayor Park Seungwon)'s policy of introducing and increasing bus routes this year has clearly helped reduce congestion for commuters heading to Yeouido and Guro. Gwangmyeong citizens using Bus No. 11-2. Provided by Gwangmyeong City

The city government announced on March 19, after analyzing data before and after policy implementation, that for routes with high demand during commuting hours, the congestion rate—measured by the bus load factor—decreased by up to 62 percentage points.

The load factor indicates the ratio of actual passengers to the bus capacity; when this figure exceeds 100%, it means the bus is full and additional passengers must wait for the next one, signifying high congestion.

The city compared the average load factors for each route before and after the policy by looking at data from 7 a.m. during the first week of December last year—when bus usage for commuting and school runs was at its peak—using high-traffic stops as benchmarks.

Notably, Buses No. 11-1 and 11-2, which each received two additional buses starting March 1, showed marked improvements.

Before the increase in buses, the load factors at the 'Yeonseo Library' and 'Cheolsan Community Welfare Center' stops were 117.7% and 131%, respectively, leading to chronic congestion. However, by the first week of March following the increase, these figures dropped significantly to averages of 77.08% and 69%. In particular, Bus No. 11-2 saw a reduction of 62 percentage points, demonstrating the effectiveness of the policy.

Last May, the city had already added four buses to each route to improve convenience for passengers, and this year responded to ongoing population growth by adding two more buses per route. During commuting hours, the city also concentrated more than six additional bus deployments per day, shortening average intervals between buses by about two minutes and further enhancing transit convenience.

Additionally, the effect of the newly introduced Gwangmyeong 02 neighborhood bus route on February 23 was demonstrated by the dispersion of demand from the existing Gwangmyeong 01 route.

Prior to the launch of Gwangmyeong 02, the load factor for Gwangmyeong 01 at the 'Palace Phil' stop was 116.3%. After Gwangmyeong 02 began operating, the average dropped 38.75 percentage points to 77.55% by the last week of February. The newly deployed Gwangmyeong 02 also recorded a favorable load factor of 68.78%, confirming the effectiveness of demand dispersion.

Such achievements were made possible by closely analyzing and responding to transportation demand resulting from rapid changes in the urban structure, such as redevelopment and reconstruction.

The operation of bus number 11-2. Provided by Gwangmyeong City

In particular, key routes to Seoul with high passenger demand—such as Bus No. 11-1 from Gwangmyeong 7-dong to Yeouido, Bus No. 11-2 from Soha 2-dong via Cheolsan Station to Yeouido, and Gwangmyeong 02 from the Gwangmyeong-dong redevelopment complex via Gwangmyeongsageori Station to Guroil Station—were proactively adjusted and newly established by the city government.

Going forward, the city plans to continuously monitor transportation demand in line with ongoing urban redevelopment and reconstruction, and will expand new routes and shorten bus intervals to establish a public transportation environment in which citizens can conveniently travel from anywhere.

Mayor Seungwon Park stated, "As the city is rapidly changing due to large-scale development, the city government must take proactive steps to ensure that transportation inconvenience does not fall on our citizens. We will continue to respond swiftly to transportation changes resulting from major urban development projects, and build a dense and sophisticated transportation infrastructure that citizens can truly feel."

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