▲ Cheonan city bus fare is more expensive than metroplitan area.

1400 won is the bus fare required when you take a bus in Cheonan. 20 minutes is the waiting time between buses. Furthermore, the number of seats available are fewer than required for the time that we spend waiting for the next bus to arrive. We can see many university students gather in long lines in front of Dujeong Station. Recent incidents regarding the embezzlement of subsidies have also caused an uproar in Cheonan. As a result, the problems with city buses in Cheonan have been exposed. Are these the only problems? The Dankook Herald (DKH) investigated.

A metropolitan area carries out a transfer discount based on a distance scale rates system that considers both the charge and distance. In addition, the capital area gives people free movement by applying the ‘Metropolitan Unity Fare (MUF).’ MUF is a fare system that is charged by total distance regardless of a type of transportation transfer and the number of transfers made by a given passenger. As a result, citizens in other areas are able to use public transportation with ease thanks to introduction of these systems. Then why does Cheonan have so many
service problems?

DKH surveyed 130 people using the Cheonan transportation system about their level of service satisfaction. 74% of respondents answered that the quality of Cheonan city bus facilities was relatively low. 29% of them complained about
transportation schedules, 22% complained about the unkind attitude of the drivers, while 6% felt the seats were uncomfortable. They commonly demanded the same things described above. From the survey results, Cheonan City buses seemed to need great improvements.

To understand the position of Cheonan-si, DKH interviewed Kim Tae-wan (Department of Transportation at Cheonan City Hall).

 

Q. Could you tell us about the city bus fare increase?

A. Chungcheongnam-do fixes the fare of city buses in Cheonan. A raise in the fare isn’t only applied to Cheonan, but it is also applied to all 16 cities in Chungcheongnam-do. The reason Chungcheongnam-do increased the bus fare is
that the city has the highest operational rates for a regional line. We will try to decrease the width of the fare increase by checking with operations in other cities.

 

Q. DKH did a survey targeting city bus passengers about improvements they felt were required. The results showed dissatisfaction with the system of transfers between the buses and subway, the unkindness of the drivers, and the unreliable and inadequate schedule. What does city hall think about this?

A. Transfers between the bus and subway are unrealistic and impossible. In the event that we would adopt a transfer system, we estimate the city would suffer a 400 billion won loss to use the metropolitan payment system ‘Korail’ for transfers. As a result, we decided not to implement it. In the case of the unkindness of the drivers, each company is responsible for collecting their own civil complaints, and for those considered valid objections, a procedure that relies on the bus’ CCTV is launched. If the claim is proved, the driver is reprimanded and given appropriate education. In the case of scheduling, as mentioned earlier, we need to allocate more money, but financial conditions are tough. But we will bring these opinions to our next meeting with the company and hope that we can find a solution to ensure that the bus service hours for citizens is improved and we can operate with a more flexible schedule.

Finally he left us with these remarks for unsatisfied passengers. “It is important for
Cheonan city bus users to understand that Cheonan is in a transitional position. Citizens like metropolitan areas and as a result, cities require many things. But we can’t keep up with the demands for financial support and new infrastructure.
However, when conditions are right, we will do our best to keep pace with the needs of our citizens”, he said when speaking of his aspirations for the city and at the same time conveying an apology.

As a result of the passenger survey and interview with the city official, DKH understood that both parties were faced with some difficulties. So in this situation, what efforts can be made to solve these problems?

First, there is a need to increase government expenditure support in order to institute a transfer system, and to install a transfer card reader. The costs of installation is one million won per unit and it requires urgent government support.
Second, the company should address bus scheduling needs. Though long waiting times were a problem, screens displaying the imminent arrival of buses were also lacking. Since these devices are not available, citizens often wait without knowing about the estimated time of arrival of the next bus. The bus company should
be more concerned about their passengers and make an effort to decrease their discomfort by installing these devices.

Finally, the companies need to increase the number of seats available on a bus, and even match those buses used in the capital area. Cheonan buses have more empty space for standing than seats. Therefore, the number of passengers standing is greater than the number of people sitting. As a result, safety problems
are an issue. In order to consider the safety of its citizens, all parties involved must work to solve this problem.