Ganghwa County Mayor Park Yong-chul Urges Establishment of M-Bus Routes at Incheon County Mayors and District Chiefs Meeting

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Choi Ki-ho] Ganghwa County Mayor Park Yong-chul urged the establishment of an express M-bus route directly connecting Ganghwa to Seoul Station at the September Incheon County Mayors and District Chiefs Meeting held on the 8th at the West Annex Conference Room in Jung-gu, Incheon.

Currently, Incheon operates 21 regional bus routes and 12 M-bus routes connected with Seoul. However, Ganghwa County operates only one Seoul-Sinchon bound Route 3000, a regional bus line. Moreover, since this route passes through Gimpo City, travel time from Ganghwa to Seoul's Sinchon takes over two hours, making improvements in metropolitan transportation urgent.

The Ganghwa-Seoul Station M-bus route proposed by Ganghwa County is a groundbreaking transportation means aimed at arriving at Seoul Station within one hour. When the M-bus is introduced, it is expected to serve as a key driver of regional economic development through improved residential conditions via direct connection to Seoul Station and KTX linkage, increased resident population, and increased tourism.

Ganghwa County Mayor Park Yong-chul emphasized, "The reality is that despite being citizens of the same Incheon, there is a significant disparity in transportation conditions between regions. Active interest and efforts from Incheon are necessary so that Ganghwa residents can also enjoy transportation welfare as citizens of Incheon."

In response, Incheon City said it will continue to consult so that routes in the Ganghwa region can be reflected and newly established during the deliberation of the Metropolitan Area Wide Transit Committee Route Review Committee.

Meanwhile, Ganghwa County submitted an application for M-bus establishment through Incheon City to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Metropolitan Area Wide Transit Committee in May, and deliberation is currently underway. The final approval decision is scheduled to be announced in the latter half of this year.