+ BACKGROUND, CHALLENGES AND OBJECTIVES
SMG adopted the transport future plan for “Seoul: Easily Accessible and Enjoyable without a Car” with three key concepts: 1) People-first transport, 2) Transport for all users, and 3) Environmentally-friendly transportation. SMG also set out an array of detailed transport objectives, called the 2030 Triple 30 Plan: A 30% Reduction in Automobile Use, a 30% Reduction in Public Transit Travel Time and an Increase in the Green Space Ratio in the CBD from 10% to 30%. If successful, the Seoul Metropolitan City (hereafter Seoul) would experience a 10% increase in the green transport mode share from 70% to 80%, with a reduction in transportation CO2 emissions from 1.2 to 0.9 tonnes per capita a year. SMG hopes to achieve this goal by 2030. The setting of these ambitious goals began in 2004 through public transit reforms, which laid a firm foundation for the forthcoming environment-friendly transport policies.
+ ACTIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION
Actions
Today, the Seoul Metropolitan City (hereafter Seoul)’s new people-first transport vision that prioritizes people and the environment is already being realised.
- Road Diet
Seoul has been actively narrowing down the widths of roads to create sidewalks and cycling paths since the early 2000s. To facilitate more direct pedestrian connections, Seoul has also progressively removed footbridges and introduced pedestrian crosswalks throughout the city. Key projects like the Yonsei-ro Transit Mall—accessible only to buses, emergency vehicles and pedestrians—were established by SMG to encourage use of public transportation.
- Removal of Flyovers
While flyovers help keep car traffic flowing, they can blight the urban landscape, obstruct pedestrian movement and hinder the installation of median bus lanes. In order to solve this problem, SMG demolished some flyovers to promote urban vitality. A subsequent survey indicated that vehicular speed has remained the same while land values near the new intersections have increased with the flyovers removed.
- Environment-friendly Car Sharing
To further reduce the demand for cars, SMG launched a car-sharing program in 2013, which saw the deployment of more than 1,300 cars, approximately 300 of which were electric. Since September 2014, 10 electric taxis have begun operating in the city and the service is being evaluated to assess their viability as a commercial vehicle for longer travel distances.
Implementation
Beginning in the 1990s, economic growth and the popularity of owning a car have led to soaring numbers of personal cars on the road, resulting in serious traffic congestions.
To tackle congestions, city mayors were empowered by the Urban Traffic Readjustment Promotion Act to manage the public demand for congestion mitigation. Article 15 of the Act states that when a city mayor deems it necessary to adopt the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) approach in an area under his or her jurisdiction to facilitate traffic flow, improve air quality or promote the efficient use of transportation infrastructure, it may be undertaken after a review by the Regional City Transportation Policy Deliberation Committee. The City of Seoul has developed various TDM programs that were mandatory as well as voluntary. These include a congestion impact fee, “Weekly No-Driving Day” program and travel demand management for businesses.
- Congestion Impact Fee
Buildings such as wedding halls and department stores induce a sudden rise in traffic at specific hours, hence causing congestion. First introduced in 1990, the congestion impact fee was designed to have the owners of these facilities bear the financial cost according to the “polluters-pay” principle. The congestion impact fee, which is used to improve urban transportation, is levied on the owners of facilities with a total floor area of 1,000 m2 or more.
This system saw a certain level of resistance from potential fee payers but in general, the public understood the need to reduce congestion and its social costs.
- Weekly No-Driving Day
The voluntary Weekly No-Driving Day program was introduced in July 2003 to meet demands to relieve congestion. The program encouraged residents not to drive on one out of five weekdays; with car owners whose license plates ended in certain numbers were asked not to drive on a corresponding day.
SMG provided incentives for participants at the beginning of the program. Office buildings that participated in the Weekly No-Driving Day program received a 30% discount on the congestion impact fee, while people who participated in the program were given a 20% discount on fees at public parking lots. As of 2012, the take-up rate was 44.3%—nearly half of all passenger cars in Seoul were participating in the program.
According to research by the City of Seoul in 2014, the Weekly No-Driving Day program has helped reduce Seoul’s traffic volume by 1.1%. In financial terms, reduced travel and enhanced air quality are worth KRW 144.4 billion per year.
-Travel Demand Management (TDM) for Businesses
Seoul introduced the TDM system for companies to engage them in reducing traffic volume on a voluntary basis. In return, participating companies were offered discounts on the congestion impact fee. Demand management programs for personal cars, such as the Weekly No-Driving Day or mandatory parking fees and programs to encourage bicycling, such as installing bicycle stations, accounted for 70% of all programs.
+ OUTCOMES AND IMPACTS
Seoul’s transportation policy in the past focused on vehicle-oriented approaches such as building road infrastructure, signal systems, and pedestrian and vehicle overpasses to accommodate increased number of vehicles. However, this has reinforced each household’s demand for owning cars, accounting for 30% of all energy use in Seoul. Personal cars in particular, accounted for 60% of all energy in the transportation sector, polluting the air. Residents had no say in policy development and public officials were mostly uninterested in details of actual public demand for a better transportation system.
The Seoul Transport Vision 2030 hence marked a break from the past. First, its focus is not individual transport modes but residents as a whole. The plan provides infrastructure for the benefit of the public by creating an environment dedicated to pedestrians, bicycles and public transit while ensuring effective transportation demand management (i.e., restricting the volume of personal cars). It encourages transport sharing and preserves the environment as a key to improving the city’s sustainability.
Second, the Seoul Transport 2030 requires a collaborative effort between the city, the central government, the private sector and the people. Under the auspices of the central government, Seoul needs to develop its own systematic, environment-friendly transportation policies and encourage private companies to contribute towards this effort. It has been acknowledged that exclusively government-led approach is anachronistic; residents are encouraged to take part in the transformation of Seoul’s transportation system.
+ REPLICABILITY AND SCALABILITY
Replicability of the project is currently under study.
+ BUDGET AMOUNT
•Time Scope: Starting year (2003), interim target year (2008), long-term target year (2013)
•Cost: Before restoration began, construction was estimated to cost USD 304,880,028; however, this increased during construction due to design change, price changes, and additional tasks.
(Unit: USD)
2002 2003 2004
Total 309,384,548 312,258,402 331,156,801
Design 11,087,830 1,829,843 1,829,843
Construction (Facilities) 289,005,235 301,102,094 319,684,119
Compensation (Land Purchases) - 236,126 236,126
Supervision 8,638,743 6,305,410 6,584,642
Installations 523,560 523,560 523,560
+ BUDGET SOURCE
- Time Scope: Starting year (2003), interim target year (2008), long-term target year (2013)
- Cost: Before restoration began, construction was estimated to cost USD 304,880,028; however, this increased during construction due to design change, price changes, and additional tasks.
2002 to 2004 (Unit: USD)
Total 309,384,548 312,258,402 331,156,801
Design 11,087,830 1,829,843 1,829,843
Construction (Facilities) 289,005,235 301,102,094 319,684,119
Compensation (Land Purchases) - 236,126 236,126
Supervision 8,638,743 6,305,410 6,584,642
Installations 523,560 523,560 523,560
