Seoul City to extend bus operation for year end

By Kang Seung-woo

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said, Monday, it would extend operation hours on some of its bus services from Dec. 17 to 31 for the year-end season.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to extend operation hours on some of its bus services from Dec. 17 to 31 for the year-end season. / Yonhap

Eighty-eight buses serving 11 of the capital's major areas, including Jongno, Gangnam, Sinchon and Hongdae, will be in service until 1 a.m.

Plus, on New Year's Eve, the services of 40 buses will be extended until 2 a.m. in consideration of the bell-ringing ceremony at Bosingak in Jongno.

Separately, since Dec. 1, the city government has temporarily been running four “owl buses” that operate from 12:10 a.m. until 3:30 a.m. to cater to citizens celebrating the year-end season and traveling home late.

According to the city government, the number of people who took buses after midnight in December last year was nearly 30 percent higher than the previous month ― 150,110 in December and 118,980 in November.

“As more people return home late at the end of the year due to a variety of events and gatherings, the city government will temporarily extend its bus service hours to cater to more late-night travelers,” an official of Seoul City's Bus Policy Division said.

“We expect the extended bus hours will contribute to people traveling more conveniently late at night.”