Seoul to offer free buses for Games

During the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the Seoul city government will provide free shuttle buses between Seoul and the Olympics venues and run buses that stop by some KTX stations in Seoul until 2 a.m. in order to accommodate late-night arrivals back in the city, to better accommodate some 2.3 million visitors during the Games.

“We expect to have some 2.3 million foreigners in Seoul during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Paralympics in February and March, which is some 80 percent of the expected number of foreign visitors in the country during the Games,” the Seoul Metropolitan Government said in its statement on Thursday. “As part of our welcome, we will be running free shuttles from Seoul to Pyeongchang and Gangneung and back, at most 30 times a day, from Feb. 10 to 25, and once more from March 9 to 18.”

The reservations for the free shuttles can be made at ebusnvan.com in Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese, or via the mobile app eBus&Van.

“We will also be running 11 buses that stop at the Seoul, Cheongnyangni and Sangbong KTX stations, and at the Seoul Express Bus Terminal and Dong Seoul Bus Terminal until 2 a.m.,” said the city government. “We will also ensure that there are more taxis operating near these stations to make sure those who saw an Olympics game can go home conveniently.”

The Seoul city government added that 54 officials of local governments abroad will be visiting Seoul for the PyeongChang Olympics, including Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Tashkent Mayor Rahmonbek Usmanov, Ulaanbaatar Mayor S. Batbold and Istanbul Mayor Mevlut Uysal and Italy’s Lombardy Gov. Roberto Maroni. They will attend the opening ceremony with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and the Seoul-hosted “Night of the sister and brother cities of Seoul” on Feb. 10.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]