Kim Dong-geun, the People Power Party's candidate for Uijeongbu mayor, announced a transportation pledge on Thursday to significantly expand metropolitan bus routes directly connecting all districts of Uijeongbu to major business hubs in Seoul, including Gangnam, Jamsil, and Gwanghwamun. The plan aims to address metropolitan transportation inconveniences, as approximately 28 percent of Uijeongbu's total population commutes to Seoul and other outside areas.
Kim has pushed for metropolitan bus route expansion during his four-year term under the eighth popularly elected local government. He improved transportation conditions through measures including the launch and expansion of the G6000 and G6100 routes and the introduction of a Gwanghwamun-bound metropolitan bus serving the Heungseon district. However, Kim said he would pursue more fundamental improvements, judging that limitations remain at the level of citizens' daily experience.
The core of the pledge is to establish new metropolitan bus routes directly linking all districts of Uijeongbu to key hubs in Seoul, while expanding and increasing services on existing routes. The plan calls for strengthening direct routes connecting major business districts such as Gangnam, Jamsil, and Gwanghwamun, and building an operating system targeting dispatch intervals of around 10 minutes during rush hours.
Kim's camp said this would create an environment in which residents can use metropolitan buses without long waits. The vision is to deliver tangible transportation improvements that citizens can feel.
Once the expansion policy is implemented, travel times to major hubs in Seoul are expected to shorten and accessibility is projected to improve significantly. In particular, shorter dispatch intervals are expected to ease waiting times and congestion, improving commuting convenience for residents.
"When transportation changes, citizens' lives change," Kim said. "I will make the path to Seoul faster and more convenient, bringing real change to citizens' daily lives."
