Travel Changes and Transportation Policy Issues by Construction of Metropolitan Express Railway in Korea
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KRIHS SPECIAL REPORT Vol. 057 Vol. KRIHS SPECIAL REPORT Travel Changes and Transportation Policy Issues by Construction of Metropolitan Express Railway in Korea Ho-jeung Kim, Junghwa Kim KRIHS Vol. SPECIAL 057 REPORT 2020 Travel Changes and Transportation Policy Issues by Construction of Metropolitan Express Railway in Korea This study provides an outlook on the changes in commute times following the launch of Great Train eXpress (GTX) transport service and proposes policy tasks to preemptively address traffic issues caused by the dispersion of places of living that is expected to occur near GTX stations. KRIHS SPECIAL REPORT 57 Travel Changes and Transportation Policy Issues by Construction of Metropolitan Express Railway in Korea Ho-jeung Kim, Junghwa Kim KOREA RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENTS SPECIAL REPORT 2020 INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENTS SPECIAL REPORT RESEARCH KOREA Dr. Ho-jeung Kim is a senior research fellow at National Infrastructure Research Division of Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS). She received her Ph.D. in urban planning at Hongik University. Her major research fields are the planning and policy of roads, transportation, and traffic demand. His recent publications are as follows: • Effective Management Strategies of Central–Local Government Fund-matching Projects in the Road Construction Ho-jeung Kim Division 2017. KRIHS. • Future Prospects and Strategies for National Arterial Roads. 2018. KRIHS. • Introduction and Application of a Location Housing Affordability Index. 2018. KRIHS. • A Study on Changes in Travel Behavior and Transport Strategies after the Construction of GTX in the Seoul Metropolitan Area. 2019. KRIHS. • A Study on the Mid-term Plan of Road Sectors (the 4th Five-year Plan). 2015. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT). • An Efficient Strategy for National Transport Infrastructure Using a Network Index: Focusing on Expressway Interchanges. 2012. KRIHS. • A Study on the Establishment of Minimum Service Standards for Infrastructure and Transport Infrastructure. 2011. KRIHS. Dr. Junghwa Kim is a professor at Kyonggi University who previously worked as an associate research fellow for KRIHS. Her research interests are mainly related to sustainable transportation planning and social-psychological approaches to improving the effects of transport policies. Junghwa Kim Contents Summary 04 Chapter I. Introduction 05 Chapter II. Current Issues for Metropolitan Regions in Korea 07 Chapter III. Travel Time Changes due to the GTX Opening 10 Chapter IV. Changes in Influence Areas of GTX Station 1. Literature Review and Study Hypothesis 15 2. Data Collection 16 3. Model Estimation 17 Chapter V. Policy Tasks in Response to the GTX Opening 1. Linkages with the Spatial Structure Planning 23 2. Public-Private Partnership for GTX Transfer System 25 Chapter VI. Conclusion 27 References 28 Summary A recent OECD survey showed that the average commute time in the Republic of Korea was the longest among OECD member states; indeed, traffic congestion during rush hours is getting worse in the Seoul metropolitan region. Noting this, the government has unveiled a plan to build GTX for the dual purposes of tackling traffic congestion in the Seoul metropolitan region and accommodating a new town being planned to mitigate the housing shortage in the region. Anticipating a reduction in commute times following the launch of the Great Train eXpress (GTX) service, the study visualized the effect of the GTX service in terms of changes in spatial forms and areas of the entire Seoul metropolitan region, using a time-space analysis. This study conducted a survey of residents living near planned GTX stations, assuming a growing influence of GTX stations. The survey result showed that among GTX-A stations, the commute times and expenses of residents in the Gyeonggi region were more than 1.5 times higher than those in other regions. Also, it was observed that tenants on monthly rent were more sensitive to changes in housing expenses and transportation expenses compared to tenants on two- year key deposits. The analysis results can provide a basis to reshape the spatial structure of the Seoul metropolitan region into a polycentric-linking type. The study proposes that forging a private-public partnership is essential to develop areas near GTX stations efficiently, in addition to efforts of the central and local governments, and this initiative needs to be led by the Metropolitan Transport Commission under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport. CHAPTER I. Introduction The population that has migrated from Seoul to Gyeonggi-do in the past four years has increased significantly. Particularly, youth migration has increased due to the high burden of housing expenses. According to the statistics from the 2018 Population Migration in the Republic of Korea, 170,000 residents migrated to Gyeonggi-do in 2018, which was the largest number since 2004; this was an increase of 46% compared to 2017. More specifically, the net population outflow from Seoul to Gyeonggi-do has grown consecutively for 49 years since 1970, and the population outflow from Seoul to Gyeonggi-do in 2018 was around 135,000 residents. Among them, the population in their 30s accounted for 29.1% of the total net inflow population. In recent years, Korea had the longest average commute time among the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations. For example, the average commute times in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do were 95.8 minutes and 134.2 minutes, respectively. The increase in commute time degrades the life satisfaction of commuters, and the value of lost happiness due to one-hour commute times in metropolitan regions was calculated to be KRW 940,000 (Korea Transport Institute 2013). The Korean government (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, MOLIT) announced plans to supply more houses in metropolitan areas. It is expected for a commuting area in metropolitan regions to be further expanded. According to the housing supply plan, the transport strategies to improve the metropolitan transportation network was announced. The proposed main plan in these strategies is to build a metropolitan express railway called Great Train eXpress (GTX), with the aim of the metropolitan region being commute to the downtown of Seoul within 30 minutes. The construction of GTX with a three-line railroad network crossing the metropolitan area, is expected to resolve the traffic congestion due to the greater metropolitan living area, raise the traffic welfare of long-distance commuters, strengthen global competitiveness, and improve quality of life through fast and comfortable transportation for residents in metropolitan regions by shortening the commute time especially. 05 Chapter Ⅰ. Introduction This study predicts the changes in the travel behavior of users caused by the changes in traffic conditions according to the supply of express transportation facilities in metropolitan regions and derives policy recommendations according to the changes in travel behavior. To do this, population migration, changes in land price, and changes in travel behavior are discussed by focusing on GTX stations. Based on these results, the changes in travel behavior are predicted after the opening of the GTX. Furthermore, the spatio-temporal changes in the metropolitan region according to the construction of the GTX are analyzed. Changes in the influence areas, such as areas around stations and resident distribution of users after the construction of the GTX, are then identified considering the trend of expansion of the influence areas, such as the number of users and travel in existing facilities. Finally, the stations of the GTX are categorized based on the analyzed results, and policy tasks are derived that can preemptively respond to the problems of traffic that are expected due to changes in travel behavior. Figure 1. Prospective GTX line map Source: Gyeonggi-Do government website 2019. Deokjeong Uijeongbu Unjeong GTX Line A GTX Line C Pyeongnae -hopyeong Maseok KINTEX Chang-dong Yeonsinnae Kwangwoon Byeollae Daegok University Mangu Cheongnyang-ri Seoul Station Bucheon Sports Yeouido Complex Sindorim Samsung Bupyeong Suseo Yangjae Incheon GTX Line B City Hall Station Gwacheon Seongnam Songdo Geumjeong Yongin Suwon Dongtan 06 Travel Changes and Transportation Policy Issues by Construction of Metropolitan Express Railway in Korea CHAPTER . Ⅱ Current Issues for Metropolitan Regions in Korea The traffic volume in metropolitan regions in Korea is steadily increasing. Particularly, the traffic volume from the outskirts of the metropolitan region into Seoul is rapidly on the rise. According to the Korea Transport Database data from 2010 to 2016, the travel volume between Seoul and Gyeonggi region has increased from 5,750,000 daily on average to 6,350,000, and the travel volume between Incheon and Gyeonggi region has also increased from 950,000 to 1,110,000. In particular, a long-distance travel volume has significantly increased. Figure 1 depicts the rate of metropolitan travel volume around Seoul between 2010 and 2016, in which the travel distance between 45 km and 60 km has significantly increased. Figure 2. Rate of metropolitan travel volume in link with Seoul between 2010 and 2016 Source: Joint seminar 2018. 1.85 1.40 1.38 1.22 1. 18 1.37 1. 15 1.02 1.02 1.03 travel within 15km 15~30km 30~45km 45~60km more than 60km distance All trips Commuting trips 07 Chapter II. Current Issues for Metropolitan Regions in Korea The net outflow from Seoul to Gyeonggi-do and Incheon in 2018 was 144,000 residents, which has increased by 28,000 residents compared to 2017. The net inflow in Gyeonggi- do from metropolitan regions is also increasing, with around 31,000 persons more in 2018 than in 2017. The net population migration statistics in the metropolitan region in terms of cities (si), counties (gun), and districts (gu) reveal that the population in Seoul decreased whereas the population in Gyeonggi-do significantly increased. For example, the number of regions whose population increased in Gyeonggi-do in 2018 increased. In particular, the population in Gyeonggi regions that were 30 km or longer away from Seoul rapidly increased.