Osan Mayor Jo Yong-ho Requests Increased Wide-area Buses from Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

Osan Mayor Jo Yong-ho visited the Metropolitan Wide-area Transportation Committee (hereinafter MWTC) of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 25th, held a roundtable discussion, and made proposals regarding major transportation issues in Osan City.

The roundtable discussion was attended by Mayor Jo Yong-ho, Kim Yong-seok, chairman of the MWTC, as well as key officials including the director of the Metropolitan Transportation Policy Division and the head of the Wide-area Bus Division.

Mayor Jo Yong-ho stated, "During the development of Sejiao Districts 1 and 2, wide-area traffic improvement measures were inadequately reflected, resulting in transportation inconveniences throughout Osan. With the full-scale occupancy of Sejiao District 2 and major urban development projects planned, including Sejiao District 3, a proactive expansion of the wide-area transportation network is urgent." He added, "I hope the MWTC will actively cooperate in developing measures to resolve citizens' commuting transportation difficulties."

In response, MWTC Chairman Kim Yong-seok said, "The MWTC is also making efforts to develop improvement measures, including on-site inspections," and "We will carefully review the matters you have raised. I believe that if we think together, we can find solutions."

During the substantive roundtable discussion, Mayor Jo actively requested support for major issues including △increasing wide-area bus frequency during rush hours △expanding the budget ratio for Sejiao District 3 wide-area traffic improvement project.

Regarding increased wide-area bus frequency during rush hours, Osan City emphasized the necessity of increasing rush hour frequency for a total of four routes: routes 1311 and 1311B operated by the MWTC serving Gangnam Station and Sinnonhyeon Station, and Gyeonggi Province routes 5300 and 5200.

Wide-area bus routes 1311 and 1311B have insufficient supply compared to demand during rush hours. As a result, instances of buses passing without stopping due to overcrowding have occurred. It has been identified that 5 to 10 instances of non-stop passages due to daily overcrowding during rush hours are occurring.

Mayor Jo Yong-ho stated, "An expansion of rush hour frequency to meet commuting demand is urgent to alleviate citizens' transportation difficulties," and "We anticipate that if each route increases frequency by 2 to 4 trips, congestion during rush hours will be significantly eased."

Mayor Jo also requested that the MWTC work together to expand the Sejiao District 3 Public Housing Complex (hereinafter Sejiao District 3) wide-area traffic improvement plan and its budget ratio.

Sejiao District 3, with a scale of approximately 4.3 million square meters, is planned to accommodate 33,000 households and approximately 75,000 residents. However, the project implementer's budget ratio for Sejiao District 3 wide-area traffic improvement measures is at approximately 7.6%. Considering that the project implementer's budget ratio for other districts' wide-area traffic improvement measures averages 15 to 20% and given the scale of development and traffic demand, Sejiao District 3's wide-area traffic improvement budget falls significantly below average.

Since Sejiao District 3 has various wide-area traffic improvement measures planned, including underground passages at major intersections, securing sufficient project funds is important. According to Mayor Jo's position, realizing realistic wide-area traffic improvement project budgets is urgent for Osan's development.