Busan to Introduce Open-Topped Bus
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Travelers to Busan, the nation's largest port city, will be able to enjoy sightseeing on an open-topped tour bus from October if the city gets the go-ahead from the central government.
Busan City said Monday that it would adopt two open-roofed city tour buses, the first of their kind in Korea, with routes and fares to be decided after a review of demand and an analysis of expert opinion.
``Busan has what it takes to operate open-topped buses because the mercury hardly drops below zero in winter and it's cooler than other parts of the nation in the summer,'' a Busan official said.
Of the 1-billion-won ($800,000) budget for the purchase of the two buses, the city government will pay 40 percent and Busan Tourism Development, the city's affiliate company, the remainder.
The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs is showing receptiveness toward the city's request to revise related rules for the introduction of the buses, the official said.
``The ministry said it will change (the rules) if we come up with measures to secure passenger safety,'' he said.
The city government plans to set a speed limit for the buses given Busan's many slopes. Passengers on the upper deck will have to fasten seatbelts, while a CCTV will be set up to make sure they are not moving around.
The city hopes the rule change can be made by May and adopt the buses in September ahead of an October launch of operations. It adopted two covered double-decker tour buses in August 2006, a first for Korea. As they grew popular, it added two more the following month.