◀ reporter ▶
It goes right away, this is Kim Se-young, a reporter from the social team.
It is 7:00 in the morning, when the citizens of the metropolitan area start working in earnest.
As you can see, there are already long lines of citizens waiting for the intercity bus to Seoul.
The bus doesn’t come very often, and even if I get on it, it’s a full bus, so it’s not the only pain on the way to and from work.
Just how serious it is, let’s see.
◀ Report ▶
Last Friday morning, dozens of citizens lined up at a bus stop in Seongnam City on their way to work.
The wide-area bus has arrived, but there are no vacancies.
But it keeps going up.
[손은애/직장인]
“There are a lot of cases where I stand. I think there are more than 10 people standing.”
As a result of observing regarding an hour on the way to work, it seems that there are many people standing on the bus going.
Let’s see what it actually looks like.
The bus bound for Gangnam Station in Seoul arrived without an empty seat.
“I don’t think I can ride…”
The ‘zero vacancy’ sign seems to mean there isn’t even a place to stand.
I managed to get on using the back door.
“I can ride. I can ride.”
It is difficult to stamp a card on the terminal in a bus where there is no space for footsteps.
“I can’t take a picture.”
Passengers aren’t the only ones suffering.
[버스 기사]
“I can’t start! Come up the stairs!”
It was difficult to get on the bus.
I rode it, but it’s so full of people here that it’s hard to even stand up.
One passenger said it was better than usual even though it looked like there were more than 30 standing passengers.
[한미정/직장인]
“I think I wrote it today…”
On more severe days, there have been times when he fell while standing and was injured.
[한미정/직장인]
“It’s very dangerous. I was injured twice on the bus. I broke the brakes and fell.”
Every time I stood at the station, I was pushed and hit, and I groaned without realizing it.
A bus rushing down the highway as it left Seongnam City.
However, it is illegal to drive on the highway with a standing passenger who cannot fasten a seat belt.
I got on the bus for regarding 30 minutes and got off at Gangnam Station.
I mightn’t get a seat all the way.
[백찬국/경진여객 운수지회 사무장]
“In the event of an accident, the people who were standing there really mightn’t get it right, in such a tension that you mightn’t even imagine how much they would be hurt…”
What would happen if only the passengers in the seat were carried in accordance with the law?
At 6 pm, when I started working, I went to Sadang Station in Seoul.
In a heat wave approaching 35 degrees Celsius, an endless line is created in an instant.
You have to stand in line to catch the next bus.
You have to walk regarding 100 meters from the stop to stand at the end of the line.
As citizens from all over Gyeonggi-do, including Suwon, Hwaseong, and Gwacheon, gather, the whole of India fills with people.
I stood at the end and mightn’t even see the bus coming.
I’ve been waiting for regarding 20 minutes now and sent two buses.
The next car seems to be able to ride.
If you leave with only the seated passengers, the waiting time will increase.
Waiting more than an hour is normal.
[박현화/직장인]
“At the worst, I stood at the end of an alley. At that time, I was really just going into a cafe thinking regarding going home following 9 o’clock…”
In the second quarter of this year, metropolitan area bus users increased by 14.4% in Seoul and 23.7% in Gyeonggi-do compared to the same period last year.
With the lifting of the distance, the demand for public transportation has increased, and above all, due to the burden of gas prices.
[박현화/직장인]
“Originally, I also used my own car instead of public transportation, but now I can’t use it because (gas price) is a burden.”
However, following the corona crisis, depending on the route, the service volume has decreased by 20%, so the interval between trains has been increased.
The solution is to increase the number of buses and drivers, but the problem of increasing cars is blocked by the opposition of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which is concerned regarding congestion in the city center, and drivers who have gone to other industries are not returning.
Gyeonggi-do bus union demands a quasi-public management system similar to that of Seoul, and following announcing a general strike next month, it seems that a special solution to the traffic disruption is needed.
Let’s go right away, this is Kim Se-young.
Video coverage and editing: Wi Dong-won
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