Seoul City's 'Myeongdong Bus Crisis' Measures... Managed Both Operating Hours and Congestion Levels

Following the 'bus crisis' in the Myeongdong area at the end of last year, measures such as the dispersion of Seoul city bus routes have significantly improved pedestrian density and other conditions.

On the 24th, Seoul City announced that since implementing traffic congestion relief measures at the Myeongdong Entrance express bus stop in January, express bus operation times have been reduced by up to 13 minutes, and the density of bus stops during rush hour has decreased by more than 50%. In particular, the "Pedestrian Service Level," which grades the quality of service perceived by pedestrians on sidewalks, improved by two levels to a B grade.

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Previously, to alleviate traffic congestion in the Myeongdong area, Seoul City implemented measures including ▲dispersing some of the routes (8 routes) concentrated at the Myeongdong Entrance stop to nearby stops, ▲assigning exemplary drivers (2 per stop) at Myeongdong Entrance and Gwanggyo stops during rush hour, and ▲partially postponing the operation of queue signs until route dispersion was completed.

After implementing the improvement measures, an analysis of operation records for 29 express bus routes passing through the Myeongdong area showed that the overall operation time decreased by an average of about 5 minutes based on departures from garages between 16:00 and 18:00 before and after route dispersion. Most notably, traffic flow was sequentially eased as routes were dispersed starting from the congestion entry point at the Lotte Young Plaza stop to the newly established Myeongdong Entrance B, Myeongdong Entrance, and newly established Gwanggyo stops. The average operation time decreased for most routes where stop dispersion was implemented, with routes heading toward Seongnam showing a maximum reduction of 13 minutes, demonstrating an overall reduction in operation time and congestion relief effect.

According to a pedestrian density survey at the Myeongdong Entrance stop, the density relative to the sidewalk occupancy area during rush hour decreased by approximately 0.43 persons per square meter (from 0.76 persons/㎡ to 0.33 persons/㎡) compared to before route dispersion, resulting in about a 56% reduction after the measures were implemented. Additionally, the number of people waiting at the stop decreased from 350 to around 150, and the pedestrian service level improved from a D grade to a B grade.

Seoul City has completed expert consultations and public opinion gathering on the queue operation method at the Myeongdong Entrance and Gwanggyo stops to establish order on sidewalks and prevent passenger confusion. Based on these results, the city plans to implement the measures in March. A majority of citizens (72%) using the Myeongdong Entrance stop responded that they prefer to maintain the current queue sign waiting method. Therefore, the existing seven queue signs will be evenly distributed and operated, and future usage trends will be considered to explore grouping by route direction.

Yoon Jong-jang, Director of Seoul City Urban Transportation Office, stated, "By utilizing all available means, the city has achieved significant congestion relief effects at express bus stops from the early stages of implementation, and we will continue to manage this going forward." He added, "However, given the limitations of road capacity and traffic volume, we will promptly urge related agencies such as the Metropolitan Government Transport Committee and Gyeonggi Province to prepare proactive measures to resolve the accumulated inconvenience for passengers in the metropolitan area."

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