The South Jeolla Province-Gwangju Integrated Special City is preparing public notices and facility upgrades ahead of a sweeping overhaul of Gwangju-area city bus routes set to take effect Oct. 31, aiming to minimize inconvenience for riders.
The restructuring will expand the total number of routes from 103 to 115 — an increase of 12. Daily service runs will rise by 535, from 8,394 to 8,929, while the average headway will shorten from 25.2 minutes to 20.7 minutes.
The city plans to publicize the changes through multiple channels, including its official website, the Bus Information System and SNS.
Starting Friday, passengers will be able to search updated routes by scanning QR codes posted at bus stops and inside buses. Notices and route maps will also be distributed at public facilities and apartment complexes, and promotional videos will be broadcast.
The city will deploy 140 "route change guides" in partnership with the Gwangju Volunteer Center and the Gwangju Council for Sustainable Development.
The guides will visit senior centers in 96 neighborhoods and transportation-underserved areas from Monday through Nov. 11 to explain the new routes, and will also staff stations and bus terminals for five days around the Oct. 31 launch date.
Facility updates will be phased in starting two weeks before the launch, with bus destination boards — which take longer to replace — swapped out first, followed by route number signs on Oct. 31 itself.
Some buses may display post-overhaul destination information while still operating on their current routes, so passengers should verify their bus before boarding.
The city will repaint express-seat and rapid buses first, with the remaining vehicles repainted in stages as they come up for scheduled replacement.
sij@heraldcorp.com
