Village buses to run at shorter intervals from 6 a.m. Thursday; 16 emergency transport vehicles deployed at major subway stations
District office and affiliated agencies to push back work start to 10 a.m.; illegal parking and noise near exam sites to be cracked down on
Seoul's Mapo-gu will activate a special traffic plan to help college entrance exam candidates travel safely and smoothly Thursday, when the 2027 College Scholastic Ability Test is held.
The exam begins at 8:40 a.m., and candidates must be seated by 8:10 a.m. Mapo-gu said it will work to ease traffic congestion during the morning rush hour, when candidate movement peaks, and will provide emergency transport and on-site guidance.
Village buses will run at reduced intervals from 6 a.m. to 8:10 a.m. on exam day. Announcements directing candidates to their exam sites will be made inside the buses, and drivers will be briefed in advance on exam site locations to ensure candidates arrive without difficulty.
For candidates running late or having trouble getting to their sites, the district will deploy 16 administrative vehicles from its 16 dong community centers as emergency transport. The vehicles will be stationed at major subway stations — including Gongdeok, Daeheung and Hapjeong — and at bus stops near exam sites, and will display signs reading "exam candidate transport support vehicle" on their front and sides for easy identification.
Work hours will also be adjusted to ease traffic volume. Staff at the Mapo-gu district office, the Mapo Facilities Management Corporation and the Mapo Cultural Foundation, among other affiliated agencies, will start work at 10 a.m. instead of the usual 9 a.m. However, staff handling civil complaints will work their normal hours.
On-site management around exam venues will be stepped up to maintain traffic order. A traffic response team will operate from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., and two emergency duty personnel will be assigned to each exam site to assist candidates with entry. Authorities will monitor and crack down on illegal parking near exam sites and check whether street vendors are encroaching on main roads, to ensure smooth passage for both vehicles and pedestrians.
In the afternoon, noise around exam sites will be kept to a minimum from 1:10 p.m. to 1:35 p.m., when the English listening section is administered. To that end, noise controls will be enforced at nearby construction sites and other sources from 1 p.m. to 1:40 p.m.
Mapo-gu District Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun said the district would "take careful steps so that students can worry less on their way to the exam and give their best on the day." Yoo also asked residents to "join us in maintaining traffic order and creating a quiet testing environment."
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