Public proposals, such as using existing highway facilities as regional transit hubs, will be reflected in government policy.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 28th that it selected five award-winning entries through the National Land and Transport Public Proposal Idea Contest to identify inconveniences that the public directly experiences in travel, housing, and daily life, as well as regulatory and institutional gaps arising in new industries such as logistics and Autonomous Driving.
The contest aims to promote public-participation regulatory reform in which the public, as policy demanders, directly proposes on-the-ground problems and solutions, and the government turns them into policy. A total of 417 proposals were received in the contest held on Mar.–Apr.
As a result of the review, the introduction of DRT (demand-responsive transport) linked to highway IC and tollgate transfer stops was selected as the top prize task. DRT is demand-responsive transport that flexibly operates routes, times, and frequencies according to passenger demand.
In small and mid-sized provincial cities, it takes a long time to reach terminals by public transportation such as buses and trains, but under the current system the areas where DRT can operate are limited. In response, a plan was proposed to install transfer stops near highway interchanges and tollgates and improve the system to allow DRT to operate in those sections.
The task was highly rated for leveraging existing highway facilities as regional transit hubs to improve metropolitan transportation access and travel convenience in small and mid-sized provincial cities without separate large-scale facility investment.
A proposal to use DRT to improve services in logistics-vulnerable areas was also selected as a top prize task. It would grant exceptions allowing DRT operating in transportation-deprived areas to deliver small and lightweight parcels. Specifically, it aims to minimize impacts on the transport market by separating passenger and cargo spaces, limiting to cargo under a certain weight, using a consultation model between courier companies and carriers, and employing hub delivery methods such as village halls.
The task was well received for reducing empty runs of DRT within regions, improving transport efficiency, and improving delivery costs and times in logistics-vulnerable areas to realize daily-life logistics services.
In addition, a plan to use illegally abandoned vehicles for educational purposes and a project to build real-time barrier-free transfer guides were selected as excellence awards. A plan to create dedicated logistics relay hubs for Autonomous Driving cargo trucks won the idea award.
Winners will receive a cash prize, and the top prize winner will also be awarded the Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's commendation.
Yoon Seong-eop, Director for Regulatory Reform and Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), said, "We will not only hold public idea contests but also regularize communication with startups and private associations to broadly gather voices from the field, and push to ensure that outstanding proposals lead to tangible policy outcomes such as legal revisions, regulatory exceptions, and administrative measures."