30.75 Million People Traveled During Chuseok Holiday... Expressway Traffic Up 12.6%, Traffic Accidents Nearly Halved

[Financial News] A total of 30.75 million people traveled during this year's special transportation measures period for the Chuseok holiday. Although the short holiday period concentrated travel and significantly increased average daily traffic, traffic accidents fell by nearly half.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) on the 29th, a total of 30.75 million people traveled during the five-day special transportation measures period from September 23 to 27. This was 4.0% fewer than the 32.04 million people who traveled last year, when the measures period lasted 11 days.
However, as travel was concentrated because the holiday was shorter, the average number of travelers per day rose 55.1%, from 7.57 million to 11.75 million. Average daily traffic on expressways also increased 12.6% to 6.09 million vehicles, up from 5.41 million last year. By mode of transportation, passenger cars accounted for the largest share at 88.6%, followed by rail at 5.6%, buses at 4.5%, air travel at 0.7%, and maritime transport at 0.5%.
Traffic congestion extended travel times for trips to people's hometowns, but return trips were shorter thanks to favorable weather and reduced leisure traffic. On the Seoul–Busan route, the trip to one's hometown took 10 hours, two hours longer than last year, while the return trip took 8 hours and 35 minutes, down by 1 hour and 20 minutes. On the Seoul–Mokpo route, the trip to one's hometown took 10 hours and 30 minutes, an increase of 3 hours and 45 minutes, while the return trip took 7 hours and 15 minutes, a decrease of 1 hour and 25 minutes. On the Seoul–Gangneung route, the respective times were 6 hours and 10 minutes, up by 1 hour and 15 minutes, and 4 hours and 35 minutes, down by 25 minutes.
Traffic accidents fell sharply. The nationwide average number of traffic accidents per day was 228, down 50.8% from last year's 463. The average daily number of fatalities also fell 41.5% to 5.0, from 8.5 last year. These are preliminary figures as of midnight on the 27th of last month and may change based on figures compiled by the Korean National Police Agency.
A MOLIT official said, "We appreciate the public's active participation and cooperation, which enabled the special transportation measures to be implemented smoothly during the holiday period." The official added, "We will continue working to improve the safety and convenience of travel for the public by addressing areas for improvement identified through the results of this year's Chuseok holiday transportation measures and our analysis of traffic accidents."

[email protected] Jung Kyung-soo Reporter