Cheongju Call Bus brings public transport to hard-to-reach areas

A photo of the Cheongju Call Bus. / Courtesy of Cheongju City Government

Cheongju in North Chungcheong Province is drawing international attention for its demand-responsive public transport system, the Cheongju Call Bus (pictured), which serves rural towns and villages.

On September 23, the city announced that “Christ Schalla, Innovation Officer at the Swiss Embassy in Washington, D.C., visited Cheongju to benchmark the Call Bus system.” Schalla, an expert in transportation and urban mobility, reportedly came to study the system with the goal of implementing a similar service in Europe. In March, officials from Japan’s MK Kanko Bus also visited Cheongju to explore introducing a demand-responsive service for tourism. The Cheongju Call Bus has thus been steadily attracting overseas interest.

The Cheongju Call Bus began pilot operations in October 2022 in Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, and expanded to the entire rural area of Cheongju in October 2023. Cheongju is the first city in Korea to implement a demand-responsive call bus across all rural towns and villages.

The service operates 52 buses on weekdays and 43 on holidays, covering nine service zones. Over the year from August 2024, ridership has exceeded 370,000 passengers.

The system is gaining attention for its convenience. Unlike regular bus services, the Call Bus does not run on fixed routes or schedules. Residents can summon a bus via smartphone app or phone call, and it will pick them up at public bus stops, community centers, or village halls. Considering that most rural residents are elderly, the city installed more than 400 “call bells” at community centers and village halls to facilitate easy access.

As a result, waiting times for buses in Cheongju’s rural areas have been drastically reduced from 1 to 2 hours to just 20 to 30 minutes. Fares are also very affordable: 700 won for adults, 600 won for teenagers, and 350 won for children.

The Cheongju Call Bus is already being used as a benchmark by other municipalities across Korea. Local governments in South Gyeongsang Province, Jeju Island, Boeun, and Naju have visited the city to study the system. A Cheongju City Government official said, “We will continue to do our best to implement public transportation policies that satisfy our citizens.”

※This article was translated by an AI tool and edited by a professional translator.