▲ Gyeongbu Expressway northbound near Yangjae IC (File Photo)
An average of over 6 million people per day are expected to be on the move during the peak summer vacation season from late July to early August.
During this period, the government plans to increase public transportation supply by more than 10%, improve convenience for highway and national road travel, and step up traffic safety measures, including enhanced responses to abnormal weather conditions.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced today that it will designate the 17-day period from July 25 to August 10 as a special transportation countermeasure period and implement a joint special transportation plan for the summer vacation season with related agencies.
According to analysis by The Korea Transport Institute and Korea Expressway Corporation, an average of 6.14 million people per day, totaling 104.33 million people, are expected to travel during this countermeasure period.
This is a 1.5% increase from last year's summer special transportation period, which saw a daily average of 6.05 million people.
A survey conducted by the Korea Transport Institute of 10,123 citizens showed that 51.5% intend to take a summer vacation this year. Among them, 86.3% plan to travel domestically, while 13.7% plan trips abroad.
The most preferred time for vacations was from July 25 to 31 at 16.1%, followed by August 1 to 7 at 12.9%.
For domestic destinations, the East Coast region ranked first at 26.4%, followed by the South Coast region at 19.1%, the Seoul metropolitan area at 12.3%, the West Coast region at 10.3%, and Jeju at 7.7%.
Most travelers are expected to use passenger cars, accounting for 83.8% of transportation methods.
The daily average traffic volume on expressways is projected to reach 5.43 million vehicles, a 0.6% increase from 5.4 million vehicles last year.
The Ministry will focus on five key areas during this special transportation period: ensuring smooth vehicle traffic, enhancing convenience and services for vacationers, strengthening traffic safety, expanding public transportation capacity, and stepping up responses to worsening weather conditions.
Nine new sections of general national roads spanning 65 km have been opened, and shoulder lanes are being operated across 59 expressway sections covering 371.62 km.
In addition, 234 sections of expressways and general national roads spanning 1,872 km have been selected as expected congestion zones for intensive management.
To prepare for the increase in passengers, the number of bus and train operations and seats will be increased by 11.1% (37,452 runs) and 8.3% (2.076 million seats), respectively, compared to usual levels.
Services have also been improved on the Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail) app to allow direct hotel and accommodation reservations.
To enhance airport convenience, shuttle buses at Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 will be increased, Smart Pass exclusive departure gates will be expanded from 3 to 5 locations, and an additional 9,116 temporary parking spaces will be secured.
To prepare for abnormal weather conditions such as torrential downpours during the vacation season, entry-blocking facilities and evacuation guidance facilities will be operated for underpasses, and navigation systems will provide information on underpass controls.
Intelligent CCTVs will be used to monitor dangerous situations such as rockfalls on slopes in real time.
(File Photo: Yonhap News)
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