Gyeonggi announces emergency transport measures for possible bus strike

Gyeonggi Province announced emergency transport measures on the 29th in preparation for a bus strike. Transport bureau director Yoon Tae-wan chaired the briefing.

Gyeonggi Province estimates that, if the strike goes ahead, about 3,798 buses belonging to 29 operators would stop running out of a total fleet of 10,631 city and intercity buses. That represents 35.7% of the fleet, affecting 15 cities: 12 in southern Gyeonggi and three in northern Gyeonggi.

The province began operating an emergency transport headquarters situation room at 9 a.m. on the 29th and moved to round-the-clock emergency staffing.

If the strike begins, the plan is to designate 160 boarding hubs around major rail stations and terminals in 15 cities, including Suwon, Giheung and Daehwa stations. The province is pursuing a plan to deploy about 200 chartered and government buses for shuttle services between the hubs.

City buses not participating in the strike are to concentrate services during commuting hours and increase service frequency. About 2,300 village buses on roughly 630 routes are also scheduled to concentrate services during commuting hours.

Information on whether the strike is going ahead and on alternative transport will be provided through the Gyeonggi Bus Information System (gbis.go.kr), provincial and municipal websites, social media and notices at bus stops.