A teacher identified as A at a school in North Gyeongsang Province used to commute by car in 30 minutes. But after the odd-even license plate rule for passenger cars in the public institutional sector took effect, the commute time increased to two hours. That is because bus intervals are long and the routes take big detours. Taking a taxi is an option, but the round-trip expense of about 50,000 won is a burden. A said it is "a level that is realistically hard to bear."
With the implementation of the car-use odd-even rule in the public institutional sector, complaints are spreading among local public servants that their commuting burden has surged. They say it is out of touch with reality because it is applied uniformly even in areas with poor public transportation infrastructure.
◇ "It's a remote area with only a few buses a day"
According to the government and others on Apr. 9, the odd-even rule applies to about 11,000 places, including central administrative agencies, public institutions, local governments, national and public elementary, middle and high schools, and military units. As the protracted Middle East crisis disrupted oil supplies, restrictions on car use in the public institutional sector were tightened from the five-day rotation to the odd-even rule. Cars run on odd or even days depending on the last digit of the license plate number.
The government decided to exempt those who commute long distances (30 km or more) or live in areas with weak public transportation. But on the ground, critics say the criteria do not reflect reality. By using a straight-line distance of 30 km as the standard, actual travel time and traffic conditions are not considered.
An active-duty military officer identified as B said, "I was ordered to use public transportation because the distance between my home and unit is under 30 km," adding, "With only a few buses a day and 90-minute intervals, commuting is virtually impossible."
The gap between the Seoul metropolitan area and the provinces is also cited as a problem. An elementary school teacher identified as C in a provincial area said, "Public transportation is dense in Seoul, but conditions are different in the provinces," adding, "In the end, only the burden of taxi fares is growing."
With no proper alternatives, workarounds are appearing. A teacher identified as D parks a personal car in an apartment complex near the workplace and walks to work. D said, "Taking a taxi every other day is a big expense burden."
◇ License plate swaps even… three-strikes rule called "excessive"
One public servant even posted on social media (SNS) that "I changed the license plate of my second car." It is reported that inquiries about changing license plates have increased at local governments since the odd-even rule took effect.
Under current regulations, license plate changes are allowed if certain conditions are met, such as ▲ when the last digits for odd-even are the same on two cars in one household ▲ loss or theft of a plate ▲ transfer of address ▲ a request by the transferee at the time of transfer registration.
The government plans to apply a "three-strikes" system that disciplines those who violate the rule three times. But on the ground, there is pushback that the focus is only on punishment. A firefighter said, "Isn't it targeting only public servants because expanding it to the private sector is burdensome?"
Experts say uniform standards need to be supplemented. Kim Hak-hee, head of the Korea Elementary Teachers' Association, said, "For occupations where adjusting commute times is difficult, such as teachers who must meet class times or public servants working shifts, there needs to be a relaxation of the rules."