Preparing for Bus Strike... Seoul Districts Mobilize All Shuttles

Expansion of Shuttle and Village Buses Connecting to the Subway

On September 15, Seoul’s district offices announced a series of emergency transportation measures in preparation for the city bus strike, including plans to operate free shuttle buses and increase the number of village buses. If city buses stop running on September 16, these measures will focus on transporting residents to the nearest subway stations.

Dongdaemun District announced that it would deploy 60 free shuttle buses along 8 routes, with 30 in the morning and 30 in the afternoon, connecting major subway stations including Janghanpyeong Station, Cheongnyangni Station, Dapsimni Station, and Yongdu Station. Beginning September 15, an Emergency Transportation Measures Headquarters, organized into a command group and three task teams (overall management, transportation support, and public relations), will be in operation. Staff will be deployed during rush hours to assist passengers boarding and alighting.

Free shuttle buses operated during the recent city bus strike. Provided by Yangcheon District.

Yangcheon District will operate 23 shuttles each in the morning and afternoon across 5 routes on September 16. These will link key neighborhoods to lines 2, 5, and 9, connecting destinations such as Sinwol 3-dong Community Center to Kkachisan Station and the National Forensic Service Seoul Institute to Mokdong Station. The district has asked for the concentrated morning deployment of village buses to be moved up from 7–9 a.m. to 6–9 a.m., and for the evening extension from 5–7 p.m. to 5–8 p.m. The countermeasures headquarters will operate around the clock until the strike ends.

Gangseo District will run 40 free shuttles on 5 routes and have 2 government-owned buses on standby. Services will run every 10–15 minutes from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., with increased frequency during peak hours. District staff will ride each bus to assist passengers and provide stop information.

Guro District will operate 28 charter buses with 45 seats each across 7 routes, running 285 services per day between destinations such as Sindorim Station, Namguro Station, Digital Complex Intersection, and Guro Digital Complex Station. Two additional village buses will be placed on standby, and the first and last village bus services will be adjusted to start at 5 a.m. (instead of 6 a.m.) and finish at midnight (instead of 11 p.m.). The countermeasures headquarters began operations at 9 a.m. on September 15.

Seongdong District will use chartered buses on six routes to connect neighborhoods such as Seongsu, Songjeong, Sageun, Majang, Sangwangsimni, and Geumho to subway stations. The operating hours for “Seonggong Bus,” a public facility shuttle, will be extended by one hour for both the first and last services, and village bus deployment will also be increased during rush hours.

The number of shuttles, operation times, and intervals vary by district, so residents are encouraged to check routes on their local district office websites before use. These measures will only be implemented if the strike goes ahead, and the final decision depends on the outcome of labor-management negotiations.

Meanwhile, as of 2 p.m. on September 15, the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission is holding a second mediation meeting attended by both the Seoul Bus Labor Union and the Seoul Bus Transportation Business Association. The union has announced that if no agreement is reached by the end of the day, it will proceed with a full-scale strike from the first city bus service (4 a.m.) on September 16. Previously, on September 11, the union voted in favor of strike action, with 87.94% in support.

If the strike proceeds, this will mark the first time in history that two walkouts have occurred in a single year, following a two-day strike last January that took place eight months ago.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.