With a nationwide bus strike looming, officials in Seoul and other cities were striving Wednesday to prepare charter buses, extra taxis and subways in a bid to minimize the impact on commuters.

Bus operators across the country are to halt operations of more than 50,000 buses from early Thursday in protest against a bill to redefine taxis as mass transit.

That includes more than 7,500 buses running on more than 350 routes throughout Seoul, carrying approximately 5 million passengers a day.

"As determined before, we will halt operations from the first bus of the day tomorrow,” the association of bus companies said.

The announcement came shortly after the so-called taxi bill was submitted to the National Assembly’s legislation and judiciary committee for deliberation, the last stop before a plenary vote. The panel passed the proposal later in the day. A plenary session is scheduled for Friday.

The bill, supported by both sides of the Assembly, intends to recognize taxis as public transportation like buses and subways, making them eligible for state subsidies.

“There is no disagreement between the (ruling) Saenuri Party and the (main opposition) Democratic United Party regarding the bill’s handling,” a Saenuri official said.

Taxi drivers, complaining that they are increasingly squeezed by low fares and high fuel prices, have long been lobbying for the bill’s passage.

Bus firms, however, fear that if it is passed, it would put bus operators, already struggling with mounting losses and what they claim to be insufficient state subsidies, in a position of having to compete with taxies for governmental support.

“Politicians, blinded in their effort to woo votes ahead of the presidential election, are moving to pass the bill which would cost the government trillions of won,” said Lee Jun-il, head of the bus firms’ association.

Central and provincial governments were busy drawing up countermeasures on the looming strike, while asking commuters to plan alternative transport for Thursday morning.

Employees of government agencies and state-owned companies have been ordered to come to work an hour late. In some schools, classes will start an hour later than usual.

The National Policy Agency said it will mobilize 12,000 police officers for traffic control Thursday and allow non-bus vehicles on bus-only lanes. 


By Lee Sun-young
(milaya@heraldcorp.com)