Songpa-gu adds bus to Route 01, cutting wait times for commuters

Songpa-gu announced Thursday that it has added a vehicle to community bus Route 01 to reduce waiting times for residents during the morning and evening commute.

Starting Sept. 21, the fleet expanded from three buses to four, increasing daily trips from 45 to 60 and cutting the dispatch interval by three to four minutes.

Route 01 runs a 12.2-kilometer round trip from Oryun Intersection through Ogeum Station, Songpa Station and Seokchon Station to Jamsil Station, connecting multiple subway stops and serving as a key transit link for residents' daily commutes and errands.

The route had previously operated across a relatively long corridor with only three buses and no spare vehicle, leaving it vulnerable to service gaps and delays whenever a bus required maintenance or broke down.

Songpa-gu has been refining its community bus network since the routes launched in December 2022, adjusting lines and schedules to match ridership demand. Last year, the district extended Route 02 to Starfield City Wirye and Route 03 to Jamsillaru Station, adding one bus to each line. Route 01 also received a revised path and new stops to improve transfer convenience at Jamsil Station.

This year the district has focused on reducing dispatch intervals by adding vehicles. In July, it expanded Route 02 — which connects Starfield City Wirye and Suseo Station — from four buses to five, trimming the interval by four to five minutes, and has now followed that up with the additional bus on Route 01.

Route 02 had been operating its 11.6-kilometer round-trip corridor without a spare vehicle, and when breakdowns or other unexpected situations arose, the dispatch gap stretched to as long as 25 minutes, drawing repeated complaints from residents. The district proactively added one bus, effective July 13, to stabilize service. Since then, the interval has shortened by four to five minutes.

"Community buses are the everyday transit lifeline that residents rely on for their commutes and daily travel," District Mayor Seo Gang-seok said. "We will continue to closely monitor actual ridership demand and resident inconvenience so we can build an ever more convenient community bus network."