Chuseok traffic lighter than expected at Seoul Tollgate
- 4 years ago
국토교통부, 추석 귀성길에 감소된 2800만 명 이동 예상
Thankfully with a significant drop in the daily virus numbers, South Koreans head into the Chuseok holiday - the five-day holiday this year begins tomorrow, but many South Koreans have already begun their holiday travels.
Arirang News' Han Seong-woo is live at the Seoul Tollgate, a key avenue for cars leaving the city.
Seong-woo, we should normally see traffic building up already, but this year, with the Chuseok holiday hit by the pandemic as well, it's a little different, isn't it?
Hi Connyoung , behind me cars are passing through Seoul Tollgate to branch off to different parts of the country via the nation's major highways.
Including the coming weekend, the five-day Chuseok holiday begins on Wednesday... but as you can see, there isn't as much congestion as you might expect.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport predicts almost 27-point-six million people will travel across the nation from Tuesday, until the end of the long holiday on Sunday.
That's a 14 percent decrease from last year's figure of nearly 32 million.
The journey from Seoul to Busan will still take around six and a half hours though.
When the traffic situation worsens tomorrow, it is expected to take over eight hours.
As public transport usage is projected to drop due to COVID-19 health concerns, more passenger cars will be out on the roads.
According to a Korea Transport Institute survey, just over 90 percent of respondents said they would be traveling in private vehicles.
In stark contrast, buses and trains combined accounted for less than eight percent.
The transport ministry says congestion will be at its worst Wednesday morning and Saturday afternoon.
Extra stringent anti-virus measures must be in place for those who have decided to hit the highways for the holiday this year. I know that there will be no dine-ins at rest stops along the expressway, but what else do we need to be aware of?
Well... the biggest one has to be regarding highway toll fees. Usually toll charges are waived during the holidays but these will remain valid from Wednesday until Friday.
But another huge difference can be found at highway rest stops, where under normal circumstances, families would park up and relax while eating at small restaurants.
COVID-19's changed all that.
Until Sunday, drivers cannot sit and eat indoors at these resting spots.
So only take-out is allowed.
Mask-wearing isn't mandatory inside cars when traveling with close family, but if there's someone else in the vehicle, masks must be worn.
It's also recommended to ventilate your car once every hour.
That's all I have for now, Connyoung.
Thankfully with a significant drop in the daily virus numbers, South Koreans head into the Chuseok holiday - the five-day holiday this year begins tomorrow, but many South Koreans have already begun their holiday travels.
Arirang News' Han Seong-woo is live at the Seoul Tollgate, a key avenue for cars leaving the city.
Seong-woo, we should normally see traffic building up already, but this year, with the Chuseok holiday hit by the pandemic as well, it's a little different, isn't it?
Hi Connyoung , behind me cars are passing through Seoul Tollgate to branch off to different parts of the country via the nation's major highways.
Including the coming weekend, the five-day Chuseok holiday begins on Wednesday... but as you can see, there isn't as much congestion as you might expect.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport predicts almost 27-point-six million people will travel across the nation from Tuesday, until the end of the long holiday on Sunday.
That's a 14 percent decrease from last year's figure of nearly 32 million.
The journey from Seoul to Busan will still take around six and a half hours though.
When the traffic situation worsens tomorrow, it is expected to take over eight hours.
As public transport usage is projected to drop due to COVID-19 health concerns, more passenger cars will be out on the roads.
According to a Korea Transport Institute survey, just over 90 percent of respondents said they would be traveling in private vehicles.
In stark contrast, buses and trains combined accounted for less than eight percent.
The transport ministry says congestion will be at its worst Wednesday morning and Saturday afternoon.
Extra stringent anti-virus measures must be in place for those who have decided to hit the highways for the holiday this year. I know that there will be no dine-ins at rest stops along the expressway, but what else do we need to be aware of?
Well... the biggest one has to be regarding highway toll fees. Usually toll charges are waived during the holidays but these will remain valid from Wednesday until Friday.
But another huge difference can be found at highway rest stops, where under normal circumstances, families would park up and relax while eating at small restaurants.
COVID-19's changed all that.
Until Sunday, drivers cannot sit and eat indoors at these resting spots.
So only take-out is allowed.
Mask-wearing isn't mandatory inside cars when traveling with close family, but if there's someone else in the vehicle, masks must be worn.
It's also recommended to ventilate your car once every hour.
That's all I have for now, Connyoung.