Public transport in South Korea

Public transport in South Korea, which is widely used, includes buses, subways, and bicycles. Public transportation includes all transportation facilities and means that provide transportation services for the general public. The range of public transportation is wide, including air, sea, and roads. Along with the rapid growth of Korea, public transportation has also developed to facilitate people's movement.

Background

After the Industrial Revolution, people began to flock to the city center. Factories began to sprout around the city. People working in factories settled around them, and industrial activity increased at a rapid pace. As the industry continued to develop, people gradually left the countryside and came to work in industrial cities, as poverty began to strike in rural areas. In 1970, around half of the population of Seoul, one of South Korea's most industrial cities, had moved to it only in the prior decade. With the rapid increase of people traveling across the country, a means of transporting large groups of people was needed. Public transportation such as trams and railways was installed for these people to move quickly. These people naturally settled in close proximity to jobs or near easy-to-move stations. The concentration of population in large cities continued and more transportation was needed to move these people.

The development of industry and automobile technology in the 1960s led to a growing number of people having private cars, mainly in advanced countries such as Europe. The number of cars has more than doubled in Europe in a decade. People can go anywhere, anytime by car. Even now, the demand for cars continues to grow. Increased demand for cars has also helped ease the population's downtown concentration. This is because you can buy a cheap house in a relatively remote area that was difficult to access by public transportation and travel by car. At first, residential areas were formed in the center of the city, and the size of the city grew as the concentric circle grew from the center. Of course, new roads had to be built and intersections, circular roads and highways had to be built to accommodate the growing number of cars. In other words, transportation systems such as private cars and road expansion have been developed to speed up travel time. The problem of environmental pollution is also a reason why public transportation has developed. The car's fuel is consumed and pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and dust due to incomplete combustion are also released. By the 1990s, cars also emitted sulfur dioxide.

Bus

Korea Bus

Card terminal in bus

Background

Buses are one of the most popular means of transportation in South Korea. There are different types of buses, including city buses, intercity buses, and express buses.

Fares

Bus fares vary depending on the type of bus, the method of payment, and the age of the passenger. Passengers pay the right fare by placing their transportation card, which they can fill with money prior, on a card terminal. Among the various types (mainly classified according to distance traveled), there is a separate application for bus booking. The app has a simple payment function and passengers can quickly make a reservation, choosing a boarding date and seat. There are machines at bus stops that allow passengers to check their remaining balance on their transportation cards. In addition, the arrival time and remaining seats of the buses at the bus stop in question are displayed on the electronic display board. Passengers can determine the arrival time of a bus on various transportation applications.

Subway

Subway line 2 in Seoul, Korea

a subway map of the metropolitan area

Background

Subways are also an extremely popular means of transportation. The biggest advantage of subways compared to other means of transportation is that it can handle a larger number of people per hour. Subways are able to hold a larger number of people per hour is because it uses a dedicated railroad. However, it takes a lot of time and money to build a subway infrastructure. Construction costs are covered by taxes from local governments, the central government, companies, and passengers.

Safety

The South Korean subway system is generally safe. However, it requires more caution than other public transportation in terms of derailment, power outage, tunnel collapse, and collision, and so the subway has many safety technologies. Screen doors are installed at all stations to prevent the train from crashing into the tracks. Through the use of double track, frontal collisions are extremely rare and reduce the risk of rear-end collisions and derailments by lowering the speed of operation. It is possible for fires to occur, and so the system provides places for evacuation.

Fares

Subways use a similar system for fares as the buses. Passengers can pay with the same transportation cards and subway stations also have machines that are used to refill their balances. When transferring from a line to another, passengers are not required to pay another fare as long as they transfer within a certain time limit (which differs by different regions). This transfer system is also valid when riding buses.

Bicycle

Background

In Korea, there is a record that Seo Jae-pil first introduced bicycles in 1895 after returning from the U.S. in the 1890s and toured the construction site of Independence Gate. At that time, it was called a wheelbarrow, but the government named it Bicycle in the 1903s.

When other public transportation is crowded, office workers often use bicycles as a faster transportation method when commuting. As the number of bicycle riders increased, almost every part of the country also built bike lanes. Bicycle-only roads are mainly accessible, and are designed to reduce the contact accidents between pedestrians and bicycles.

Social Benefits

There are many bicycle clubs in South Korea, as many people enjoy riding bicycles as a leisure activity. Many join bicycle clubs so they can build a bond between people and live a healthier life. However, there are growing calls for improvement as they are driving on motorways rather than bicycle lanes, and are feared to cause contact accidents between bicycles and cars.

Problems

Preface

The South Korean public transportation system is very advanced, with its capital Seoul being "often ranked as having one of the best public transportation systems in the world. It can be seen as operating in systems that are easy to understand, having clean facilities, being timely, providing services like free wifi, etc. Nonetheless, it still has its issues.

Frequent Transfers

Many have noted having to transfer too often as a problem in public transportation, believing it was necessary to reduce the travel time, or distance, in urban and residential areas as much as possible. Therefore, urban lawmakers also plan to deploy the existing mega-sized complex centers on a small scale and deploy residential and commercial facilities in various places.

Inclusion of Taxis

In South Korea, public transportation methods and facilities, like buses and railroad stations, receive financial support from the government. Not included in the list are taxis. Some South Koreans argue that taxi drivers should be included in public transportation even if they do not have regular connections due to the nature of taxis. On the other hand, other South Koreans disagree and express their opinions that what is considered the current means of public transportation should be maintained.

Some members of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea proposed a bill to include taxis in the scope of public transportation in 2012, but bus drivers and operators decided to suspend the operation of buses in Korea in protest. In addition, the bill was opposed by the South Korean government. In April 2023, another bill has been put forward to include taxis in the group of public transportation methods.

Accommodations

Public transportation in South Korea lack accommodations for people with disabilities. For buses, there are low floor buses with low footrest heights and though they have increased in number compared to the past, they are still lacking. There are some areas where low-floor buses have difficulty running, making people who use them face difficulty when traveling to those areas. For subways, there are elevators and spaces for wheelchairs to help people with disabilities travel, however these places are often crowded and used by other passengers as well. Even for taxis (which are still being debated on being a part of public transportation), people with disabilities must reserve priorly to ride a taxi, and even then, usually have to wait a long time before it arrives. The lack of accommodations in the transportation system also has a social effect, as it has affected the number of people with disabilities who leave their homes to travel.

Accidents

Bus

Drowsy driving is more prevalent than expected among the causes of accidents. There are also various types of accidents, such as hitting a person on the road, sliding on a snow road, and falling below a cliff. Buses are likely to be accompanied by casualties in the event of an accident.

Subway

Subway accidents are constant, with its the biggest reason being the aging of the subway. In the case of Seoul, it has been operating the Seoul Metro for about 40 years. Besides aging, there are also traffic errors between subways and lack of safety personnel.

Bicycle

Bicycles are often caused by collisions between people, cars and bicycles. It is expected that people wear helmets when riding a bike, but it is not uncommon to find people who do not. There is also a case of riding a bicycle on a motorway.

Etiquette

In South Korean buses and subways, proper etiquette includes not talking or calling loudly as the systems are used by many other people, keeping the facilities clean, and avoiding the consumption of foods. For safety reasons, passengers board in order and get off in turn. In the subway, the proper system of passengers getting on and off is considered to be waiting for passengers to get off first and then getting on. Younger individuals are expected to give up their seat when the elderly and the weak board on the bus or subway as well.