More than half of the citizens commuting from Gyeonggi Province to Seoul spend over an hour on their one-way trips. Nearly 80% have considered moving or changing jobs due to the commuting burden.
According to a survey commissioned by Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Deuk-gu and conducted by the polling agency Opinions, 57.3% of respondents commuting from 11 cities in Gyeonggi to Seoul reported that their one-way travel time exceeds one hour.
Of those surveyed, 61.6% primarily use rail as their mode of transportation. Additionally, 42.8% reported transferring between transportation methods or routes two or more times during their commute, and the same percentage indicated they experience delays waiting for the next train or bus due to congestion at least once a week.
Long commuting times have impacted the quality of life for many. A total of 74.3% of respondents expressed significant fatigue and stress due to commuting, with that figure rising to 96.5% for those whose one-way trips take over an hour and a half. Notably, 79.2% have considered relocating or changing jobs because of the commuting burden, and 21.7% have actively researched new job opportunities.
To address commuting issues, there is a strong demand for expanded rail services. About 59.9% of respondents believe there are insufficient urban and metropolitan rail lines connecting to downtown Seoul. The most needed policies include increasing the frequency and capacity of existing rail services (38.5%) and establishing new urban and metropolitan rail lines or extending existing ones (34.1%).
Kang stated, "While housing has continuously expanded outside of Seoul, the rail network has not kept pace. If the GTX is the main artery of transportation in the metropolitan area, urban rail is the capillary. If only the main artery is open and the capillaries are blocked, the transportation issues in the metropolitan area will not be resolved."
The survey was conducted from October 1 to 2, targeting 696 residents of Goyang, Gimpo, Bucheon, Gwangmyeong, Anyang, Gwacheon, Seongnam, Hanam, Guri, Namyangju, and Uijeongbu. The margin of error is ±3.7 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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