Gyeonggi buses to add 4,000 more seats per day for commuters

Commuters take a bus to Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on July 6 at the Seoul Station Bus Transfer Center in downtown Seoul. (Lim Jae-seong/The Korea Herald)

The number of commuter buses between Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province is set to increase next year, adding about 4,000 more seats during rush hour.

Seoul and Gyeonggi governments on Monday agreed on a plan to provide more buses during rush hour on 33 routes that link residential neighborhoods across Gyeonggi Province and Seoul’s business districts, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced.

The move allocate 58 additional buses from 6-9 a.m. and 5-10 p.m.

The agreement comes a month after some operators of Gyeonggi buses decided to ban standing passengers from commuter buses amid increased alert on safety after the deadly Itaewon crowd crush on Oct. 29.

Packed intercity buses running on expressways have been a typical view of the rush hour, as around 1.3 million people commute from Gyeonggi Province to Seoul, according to Statistics Korea’s 2020 survey.

But the no-standing policy has led to long lines of commuters waiting for buses and sometimes having to watch full buses skipping stops.

Twelve northbound lines, which operate between Seoul and cities like Goyang and Namyangju, will have 21 more runs in the morning and 17 more in the afternoon, adding 1,700 seats.

Twenty-three southbound lines, which operate between Seoul and cities like Yongin and Hwasung, will have 26 more runs in the morning and 24 more in the afternoon, providing 2,300 additional seats.

By Lim Jae-seong(forestjs@heraldcorp.com)