Higher Accessibility to Mass Transit via Shared Mobility: 

Focus on Metropolitan Travel within Seoul Capital Area

Kim Gwang Ho, Associate Research Fellow

1> Cities around the Seoul Capital Area (SCA) need to promote shared mobility methods such as car sharing and public bicycles to improve access to rail stations in the SCA.

2> Support is needed for the characteristics of shared mobility methods required for each SCA rail station; such assistance should be based on the time and distance required for access using bus lines

3> Key SCA rail stations need classification into “high-density metropolitan areas, “low-density metropolitan areas,” “high-density municipalities,” and “low-density municipalities, and also need facility investment strategies based on classification.

4> For high-density hubs with superior development around rail stations, the introduction of car sharing, charging stations, and public bicycle stands is needed given the frequency of transfers and other needs of modes of mass transit.

5> For low-density hubs, areas around rail stations need development based on the importance of each station in the SCA transit system, with preemptive investment in shared mobility facilities recommended.

Policy proposals

① Limited adoption of private car sharing in Seoul’s satellite cities with low penetration of mass transit, along with deregulation and incentives for shared mobility methods such as discounted parking fees for ride-sharing

② Financial support such as cuts in transportation impact fees levied on private developers of buildings around SCA rail stations in exchange for inclusion of shared mobility facilities on premises

③ Tentatively named Pilot Projects for Shared Mobility-based Accessibility Improvement to be spearheaded by authorities operating SCA mass transit to ensure joint growth and symbiosis between share mobility entities and bus and taxi operators

④ Cooperation between central government and municipalities needed to properly assess accessibility to SCA mass transit; municipalities to enact ordinances on urban safety and aesthetics in the operation of shared mobility methods and introduction of related facilities