Jeonju will temporarily deploy reserve buses on city routes that have become more congested during peak commute hours, cutting the time between buses to roughly half.
The city announced on the 29th that, beginning May 6, it will flexibly assign three reserve buses to its busiest routes to address energy-supply uncertainty and growing public-transit demand. Priority will be given to corridors with clusters of public institutions and routes with heavy student commuting.
Officials said the measure responds to heightened tensions in the Middle East, which have reinforced an energy-conservation push, and to limits on public-sector vehicle use that have driven more riders onto transit. In March, city bus ridership increased by about 60,000 passengers compared with the same month last year. Routes serving the Innovation City area and those that pass major schools have experienced concentrated demand at specific times, producing repeated complaints about crowding.
The city will add vehicles to the heavily congested routes 165 and 101 to shorten headways. On route 165, an additional bus will operate during the 7 a.m. hour, reducing the current roughly 15-minute interval to about 7–8 minutes. The goal is to boost capacity during peak demand and encourage passenger dispersion.
Jeonju will also add one reserve vehicle to route 101. That route starts in Pyeonghwa-dong and passes numerous middle and high schools as well as Jeonbuk National University, making it a primary corridor for school commutes. Increasing trips when students and regular commuters travel together aims to lower perceived crowding.
The city expects these steps to partially ease wait times and on-board congestion during morning commute and school hours. Officials will continue to monitor route-level demand and consider further service adjustments as needed.
