"Everyone should be in 5 minutes"...Seoul Bus Reorganizes After 20 Years

Bus-only lanes fall 20% in urban driving speed over 20 years
Overweight Bus Deficit and Private Equity Acquisition Concerns To Damage Publicity
Introduction of autonomous driving, double-decker, demand-tailored buses according to transportation demand
Ban on foreign capital entry and curb excessive profit-seeking

[Anchor]
The Seoul Metropolitan Government will completely innovate bus routes, publicity, and finances to mark the 20th anniversary of the city bus semi-public system.

It will allow anyone to use public transportation within five minutes and reform the financial support system to prevent private capital, such as private equity funds, from harming bus publicity.

Reporter Kim Hyun-ah reports.

[Reporter]
The bus stop in front of Seoul Station. Buses lined up waiting for their turn to get on and off.

It is said that there is a bus-only lane, but it is difficult to speed up in the city center where more than a hundred routes overlap.

In addition, as the bus deficit accumulated, the financial burden of the Seoul Metropolitan Government became excessive,

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has recently announced that it will completely innovate bus operations as private equity funds have taken over bus companies, raising concerns over damage to publicity.

First of all, instead of the post-settlement system, which compensated for the entire transportation deficit, we decided to introduce a "pre-confirmation system" that estimates the total income and total cost of the following year and pays the difference in advance, and put a cap on labor and fuel costs.

In addition, among bus routes, overlap with other means of transportation, or abolish long-distance routes,

Re-investigate transportation needs that have changed over the past 20 years due to urban development and re-arrange routes.

Self-driving buses are used at dawn and late at night, and "demand response type" transportation is used in areas with many elderly people or near social welfare facilities.

[Oh Se-hoon / Mayor of Seoul: We will build a system that allows anyone to use public transportation within 5 minutes. While simplifying complex city bus routes and reducing long-distance and overlapping routes, introducing new concept customized buses such as autonomous buses and double-decker buses....]

In addition, private capital such as private equity funds will introduce a pre-examination system if it acquires a bus company,

An ordinance prohibiting foreign capital and asset management companies will be revised within this year.

He also stressed that he would prevent "eat and run" by giving strong penalties to excessive dividend income, issuance of corporate bonds, sale of net assets, and resale buses within five years of entry.

I'm Kim Hyunah of YTN.



Video editing: Lee Young-hoon
Design: Jeon Wirin