Busan to increase the number of low-floor buses and bus information guides

The city of Busan will introduce 171 low-floor buses and 95 bus information guides this year to improve public transportation services and to improve convenience for the transportation vulnerable.

A low-floor bus is a bus with a low floor and a ramp installed at the entrance instead of a staircase so that the disabled can safely and conveniently climb without the help of others in a wheelchair.

Currently, 728 low-floor buses are operating in downtown Busan.

The number of 171 low-floor buses to be introduced this year is three times higher than the average number of other metropolitan cities.

This is the result of the city’s efforts to introduce additional low-floor buses, such as securing an additional KRW 2.4 billion from the previous year to improve the convenience of the transportation vulnerable.

The government budget secured by the city this year was 7.8 billion won, a 44% increase from last year’s 5.4 billion won.

In particular, not only large buses but also medium-sized buses are diversified to make low-floor buses available to more people with transportation disabilities, such as by expanding the service routes. It also plans to contribute to improving satisfaction.

The bus information guide is a guide that informs waiting passengers of information related to bus operation, such as the location of the bus and expected arrival time, in real-time. Currently, 1,163 are installed in downtown Busan.

95 newly installed bus information guides are expected to be installed by November after determining the installation location by comprehensively reviewing the opinions of districts and counties and civil complaint cases. At the same time, 27 roadside guides such as Seomyeon-Sasang bus lanes will be relocated and application software will be improved.

“The city is expanding the introduction of low-floor buses centered on the transportation vulnerable so that the disabled, the elderly, pregnant women, and children can safely and conveniently use public transportation,” said Cho Young-tae, director of the Busan Metropolitan City Transportation Bureau. “In addition, real-time bus information will continue to expand the installation of bus information guides to increase the convenience of bus users.”