Bus fares likely to increase nationwide
Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki, left, greets Ryu Geun-joong, right, head of the Korean Automobile and Transport Worker's Federation, with Kim Ju-young, center, head of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, at Government Complex Seoul, Monday, before closed-door talks to stave off bus drivers' planned strike on Wednesday. / Yonhap
Government scrambles for deal with bus union ahead of Wednesday's strike
By Lee Suh-yoon
Faced with mounting pressure to prevent a planned strike by bus drivers, Wednesday, the central government is leaning toward a resolution that would raise bus fares.
“The central government will provide financial support and public charter buses to tackle problems due to reduced working hours for bus drivers, such as the need to hire more people. Nonetheless, from a realistic standpoint, the ministries agreed that they may also need to raise bus fares,” the transport and labor ministries said in a press statement after a joint meeting of their ministers Sunday.
“As the bus fare in Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan area has been raised every four years in recent times, and as other areas have not raised their fares between 2012 and 2017, each regional government must come up with the financial resources, including a fare hike, to ensure stable operations.”
According to the Korean Automobile and Transport Worker's Federation, 32,000 bus drivers across the country voted last week to go on strike, demanding measures that could make up for a looming cut to their monthly salary in July when the 52-hour workweek is implemented.
The estimated salary cut is significant, as overtime pay makes up for around one third or even half of a bus driver's monthly paycheck ― averaging 3.54 million won ($3000) ― according to the Korea Research Institute of Transportation Industries.
On Monday, the labor ministry said the implementation of the 52-hour workweek was inevitable for bus drivers due to “the occurrence of major accidents as a result of drivers dozing off at the wheel during long working hours.”
Participating regions in the planned strike include Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Gwangju, Ulsan, Changwon and Cheongju as well as South Jeolla, South Chungcheong and Gyeonggi provinces. Residents of Gyeonggi Province will be hardest hit by the strike, as a majority of people rely on buses to commute to work in the capital. According to 2017 data from Statistics Korea, 20 percent of residents ― around 2.57 million ― commute to Seoul.
Without a fare raise or government funding, 46 percent of the bus routes in the Gyeonggi area ― operated by 15 different companies ― would have to close or operate at longer intervals, according to the provincial government. But as many of Gyeonggi's bus routes continue into Seoul, the regional government said the fare hike, if implemented, would have to happen in conjunction with connecting regions, meaning Seoul.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government, however, revealed in a press briefing Monday that it had no plans to allow a fare hike, saying it took preliminary measures last year to hire extra drivers and bring the average working hours to 47.5 a week.