Transfer stops near highway toll gates to be built under demand-responsive transit push

A demand-responsive transit, or DRT, project that would install transfer stops near highway interchanges and toll gates — allowing passengers to use regional transportation services based on real-time demand — is set to be pursued.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Tuesday that a public ideas competition it organized received 417 proposals in total, from which it selected five winners: two top prizes, two excellence awards and one idea award. Winners receive a cash prize, and top-prize recipients will also receive a ministerial commendation.

The Korea Expressway Corporation's proposal for a DRT system linked to highway interchange and toll gate transfer stops took one of the two top prizes. It drew high marks for its plan to use existing highway infrastructure as regional transit hubs, improving access to wide-area transportation in small and mid-sized cities without requiring large-scale new facility investment. The ministry plans to review possible regulatory reforms under the Passenger Transport Service Act and related laws, as well as the applicability of regulatory sandbox provisions, before consulting with local governments, transport operators and other relevant agencies to advance the idea into policy.

The other top prize went to a proposal to improve logistics services in underserved areas — such as rural and fishing communities — by leveraging DRT vehicles. The proposal addresses a dual problem: in low-demand areas, DRT vehicles often run empty and operate at a loss, while parcel deliveries face delays and added costs. The winning idea calls for granting special exemptions that would allow DRT vehicles to carry small, lightweight cargo. Safeguards to minimize disruption to the existing freight market include physical separation of passenger and cargo space, weight limits on freight, coordination between courier companies and transport operators, and a hub-delivery model using community centers and similar facilities.

Among the other winners, a proposal by Namyangju Urban Corporation to allow abandoned vehicles to be used for educational purposes received an excellence award, while a plan to build dedicated logistics relay hubs for autonomous driving freight trucks took the idea award.

Separately, an internal policy ideas competition within the ministry produced four proposals: consolidating land and forest registers and cadastral maps into a single "cadastral certificate"; sending road occupancy fee notices through a mobile platform; preventing the design of parking spaces where pillars or walls obstruct vehicle entry and exit; and shifting the point at which wide-area transportation facility levies are imposed from the permit stage to the ground-breaking stage.

Yoon Seong-eop, the ministry's official in charge of regulatory reform and legal affairs, said the ministry would "continue to identify lifestyle-focused regulatory improvement tasks that citizens can feel in their daily lives and reflect them in policy," in line with its guiding principle of delivering tangible administrative change starting from the small details of everyday life.