Osan City Emerging as Southern Seoul Metropolitan Area's Transportation Hub

[Suwon Ilbo=Correspondent Seo Dong-young] Osan City is emerging as a transportation hub in the southern Seoul metropolitan area.

Geographic advantage is cited as a key factor in Osan's development as a transportation hub. Osan is located along the Gyeongbu Expressway and national railway and Subway Line 1, and is evaluated as a strategic location even within southern Gyeonggi Province.

Accordingly, Osan is emerging as a key transit area in recent large-scale transportation projects connecting southern Seoul metropolitan area.

These include the GTX-A and C lines, the Dongtan Tram connection line, and the 2nd Seoul Metropolitan Ring Expressway (Bongdam-Dongtan).

The GTX-A line (Samsung-Dongtan section) recently passed preliminary feasibility review and SRT (Seoul Metro Express Train) is also being promoted. Additionally, the city is promoting the Dongtan Tram, which operates between Osan Station and Dongtan Station and Banwol, Hwaseong, in cooperation with neighboring local governments and LH.

Furthermore, if the GTX-C line (Yangju-Cheongryangri-Samsung-Suwon) is extended to Pyeongtaek City, it is expected that connection with Subway Line 1 will enable travel to Seoul's Gangnam area in approximately 30 minutes.

The city is accelerating efforts to expand metropolitan transportation networks and resolve transportation disadvantaged areas.

Currently, six metropolitan bus routes (5300, 5300-1, 1311, 1311A, 1311B, M5532) are operating toward Seoul (Gangnam, Sadang). Starting on the 15th, a new metropolitan bus route 5200 connecting Cheongho-dong and Sinnonhyeon Station will be launched to increase public transportation convenience for new residential areas and transportation disadvantaged regions.

With the introduction of metropolitan bus route 5200, residents of Cheongho-dong, which has had relatively inconvenient public transportation, and young adults moving into Osan Cheonho Happy Residences now have increased commuting options to Seoul.

Furthermore, while there were previously two city bus routes and one village bus route providing access to Dongtan Station for SRT use from Osan, they operated through transportation disadvantaged areas and bypassed outer city areas. Additionally, service frequency was low and intervals between buses were long.

As a result, the accessibility of existing bus routes to Dongtan Station was low, forcing most citizens to use taxis or personal vehicles when using SRT.

To resolve the inconvenience of incurring double transportation costs such as taxi fares and parking fees, the city, through continuous negotiations with Hwaseong City since last year, extended city bus route 760, which previously terminated at Dongtan 2 New City Ipark 1 Complex, to the west side of Dongtan Station.

The number of buses in operation increased from 2 to 5, operating 40 times daily and reducing intervals between buses. Route curvature was minimized to improve accessibility.

The route starting point is the Osan Station Transfer Center, Osan's gateway where national railway, subway, buses (city, intercity, metropolitan, village, and airport) and taxis can all be transferred in one location, allowing citizens to use SRT more conveniently.

Residents of Jangji-dong in Dongtan 2 New City also find it easier to use Osan Station, the nearest subway station to their residential areas, which is expected to increase demand for Osan Station use and activate the transportation hub role of Osan Station Transfer Center.

Furthermore, the city plans to continuously promote improvements in bus route systems, discovery of urban transportation model routes, expansion of circular routes, expansion of low-floor buses and eco-friendly electric buses for the elderly and disabled, and minimization of intervals between buses to enhance public transportation convenience.

Along with the wide-area scale transportation measures currently being promoted, the city expects that if internal transportation networks consisting of village buses, city buses, and semi-public buses (C1 buses) linked with these measures are densely organized, citizens' transportation benefits will increase, and the quality of life and urban quality will be elevated to a higher level.

A city official stated, "When the Bundang Line extension, Dongtan Tram, subway, and metropolitan buses are connected as one, Osan City will emerge as a true core transportation city in the southern Seoul metropolitan area," and emphasized, "We will make every effort to develop into a more livable city and a more vibrant city with optimal resident-focused transportation infrastructure."