Public Transport Reforms in Seoul: Innovations Motivated by Funding Crisis

On July 1, 2004, the Seoul Metropolitan Government introduced a wide range of reforms to its public transport system: it completely reorganized bus services, installed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors, improved coordination of bus and metro services, and fully integrated the fare structure and ticketing system between routes as well as modes. This article describes the public transport reforms in Seoul and assesses their impacts on safety, speed, costs, passenger levels, and overall customer satisfaction.