By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Operations of the weekend bus-only lanes on some sections of the Seoul-Busan Expressway, or Gyeongbu Expressway, will be expanded permanently to weekdays from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. starting next month.
The authorities have operated the lanes favoring buses on a pilot basis since July, from the southern end of Hannam Bridge to Osan Interchange, as part of efforts to boost the use of public transportation and reduce traffic between Seoul and cities to the south.
The lanes will be in operation between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. until the end of the trial period, Sept. 30. On weekends, it will be between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Previously, the bus-only lanes were operated only on weekends. Buses and at least nine-seat vehicles with a minimum of six people in them are allowed to use the lanes.
The transportation ministry, police and Seoul City will set up more cameras on the expressway sections to crackdown on cars violating the regulations. Drivers who violate the rules will be subject to a 60,000 won fine. Authorities said that during the trial period, the bus-only lanes have been effective in reducing traffic _ the number of cars running on the section has decreased by 10 percent, a ministry official said.
The system, however, has inconvenienced many drivers. The average speed of cars going from Hannam Bridge to Osan during the morning rush hour used to be 48 kilometers per hour. It has risen to 73 kilometers per hour for buses, but dropped to 18 kilometers per hour for other cars using ordinary lanes.
To solve the problem, the ministry added one lane to the section earlier this month, which has helped cars run faster, at an average 50 kilometers per hour. From January, the authorities will also allow the operation of express buses that will have fewer stops.