Jeong Byung-guk: "Solving Traffic Problems with Fast-Track Wide-Area Buses"

'Free buses', 'Good Morning buses', 'Fast-Track Wide-Area buses'.

Rep. Jeong Byung-guk of the Saenuri Party has joined what is being called a 'bus pledge race' among Gyeonggi Province gubernatorial candidates by proposing 'Fast-Track Wide-Area buses'.

On the 15th, Rep. Jeong unveiled his 'Fast-Track Wide-Area buses' pledge at the Gyeonggi Province Council and stated, "During rush hours, we will deploy approximately 20 additional M-buses in demand-heavy areas such as Dongtan and Goyang and operate them accordingly."

Rep. Jeong explained, "Instead of free buses or large-scale fleet increases, we can resolve the problem to a significant extent by investing an additional 5 billion won and applying operational expertise," adding that this was "based on the results of personally experiencing buses, including this morning of the 15th, and conversations with passengers."

Rep. Jeong particularly noted that the approximately 20 additional buses will be deployed to remote routes during daytime hours outside of rush hour periods.

Rep. Jeong also announced plans to link the 'Fast-Track Wide-Area buses' with multi-purpose transfer centers and rail-bus transfer centers, and to establish a 'Smart Wide-Area Transfer Center' where passengers can check bus schedules and parking spaces and shop online.

To this end, Rep. Jeong plans to establish a 'Metropolitan Transportation Authority' operated directly by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport instead of the existing Seoul Metropolitan Area Transportation Center.

Rep. Jeong stated, "When basic local governments become the management authorities for transportation, there are so many difficult issues that it is hard to even expand routes," and emphasized, "There is an urgent need for a central control tower that can establish virtuous-cycle traffic measures."