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Water taxies run on the Han River. Seoul City plan to expand facilities and infrastructure to make the service more easily accessible for residents.
/ Courtesy of Seoul City |
By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
Married couple, Kim Ji-young and Lee Bong-gyu find their way to work much more enjoyable these days, opting out of traffic jams or being squeezed in packed public transportation during the notorious rush hour in Seoul.
The alternative they found: a water taxi on the Han River. The boat trip takes only 20 minutes from Gwangjin-gu, eastern Seoul to Yeouido, western Seoul, about 30-40 minutes faster than on the roads.
``I'm sorry for them, but looking at all the cars stuck over there makes me feel relieved,'' Kim said half-jokingly, pointing at the traffic congestion on the riverside highways while riding the water taxi to their office. The couple said they take the taxi three times a week to commute to work.
The water taxi service, launched last October by the city government, is providing tourists and commuters with a convenient transport alternative, similar to those in Sydney and Venice.
The taxi service for commuters is available from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays. The water taxis offer a one-way ride every 10 minutes from Ttukseom Resort Station to Yeouinaru Station, and from Jamsil Pier Station to Yeouinaru Station in the morning; and from Yeouinaru Station to Jamsil Pier Station, and from Yeouinaru Station to Ttukseom Resort Station in the evening. The fare is 5,000 won per person.
But the service is still not that well known to the public and users say there are things that still need to be improved.
``Accessibility to the water taxi pier is quite limited,'' said Jin Ho-sung, a 38-year-old office worker. ``If you don't live near Ttukseom Resort Station, it is a whole journey to just get here. I think the city should build more infrastructure.''
Jin said he uses the water cab about five times a month, but he would use it more often if there was more infrastructure, such as better platforms and a shuttle bus service to the piers. ``It would be a lot better to invest more to make this a more reliable and comfortable form of transport, rather than building more roads,'' he said.
The operator of the service also agrees.
``We've been in the red,'' said Kim Jeong-ho, section chief at the marketing department of service operator Pleasant Seoul Company. ``We understand there are still many difficulties that prevent people from easily using our service. But more piers will be built and more routes added soon.''
Collecting suggestions from citizens, the city government plans to build elevators at the end of bridges on the river and run shuttle buses by the end of the year. There are 12 water taxi piers on the river but 20 more will be added, he said.
On top of commuters, a growing number of tourists are using the water taxi service. More than 34,000 people have used it as of Aug. 31 and 75 percent were tourists.
Unlike traditional cruises on the river with fixed routes, water taxis combined with tour programs offer various options for tourists who want to access tourist attractions on and near the river, Kim said.
The tour taxi service has two types ― River Tour and Direct Service. In River Tour, a group of tourists, up to seven, can take a water taxi and get to any point on the river. Direct Service takes passengers to water taxi stations after the busy commuting hours. For more information, call 1588-3960 or visit www.pleasantseoul.com.
e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr
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경찰, 이태원 등 외국인 밀집지역 특별관리
