"Four customers a day over the course of a year"... The nostalgic provincial bus terminals are disappearing one after another.

Bus terminals connecting Gangwon Province and various parts of the country are gradually disappearing. The Yeongwol Sangdong Terminal has been effectively closed since March last year, with all intercity bus services suspended, and the Goseong-gun Daejin Terminal has only about 20 daily users. A Goseong-gun official stated, "All terminal users are military personnel from nearby military units," and "they are complaining about difficulties due to the decline in users."

Onjeong General Terminal in Uljin County, Gyeongbuk, which opened in 1986, is also considering closure. Once a representative tourist destination of Uljin, Baegam Hot Springs, is within a 5-minute walk, and on weekends it was crowded with visitors, but now it is experiencing financial difficulties due to a decline in users. Last year, the annual number of passengers at this location was 1,356, with an average of only 3.7 passengers per day.

 

As a result, cases of local bus terminals going out of business due to operational difficulties are rapidly increasing. This is because of the issue of 'regional extinction' caused by population decline and aging, along with the rise of alternative transportation options like KTX, which has led to a sharp decrease in 'regional users.' To overcome this crisis, local terminals are seeking new ways, such as transforming into 'tourism hub centers' linked with KTX, to reinvent themselves.

According to the National Passenger Car Terminal Operators Association on the 23rd, over the past seven years from 2018 to the first half of last year, 38 private terminals have closed down. As of last year, there were a total of 283 terminals nationwide, of which 51 were publicly operated terminals managed by local governments, and 232 were private terminals. The association estimates that 69% of all private terminals nationwide, or 161 in total, are potential closures. These are places with fewer than 500 daily users.

The number of terminal users has been on a decline since the COVID-19 pandemic. Even after the pandemic ended, the number of users has not returned to previous levels. As of the end of last year, the average monthly number of users at terminals nationwide was 8.38 million, which is only 61% of the average monthly users in 2019 before the pandemic (13.77 million). During the same period, ticket sales revenue also decreased from 171.9 billion won to 133.9 billion won, a 22.1% drop.

As the number of users decreases, operational losses continue to grow. According to an analysis of the operating profit and loss of 115 private terminals nationwide that submitted data to the association, an average annual operating loss of 43.4 billion won was incurred from 2019 to 2023. Terminal operators' main sources of income are ticket sales commissions and retail space rent. However, due to the decline in visitors to the terminals, both ticket sales commissions and retail space rents have decreased each year, leading to an increasing loss.

As the difficulties in operating terminals deepen, local governments are also facing increasing concerns. This is because buses are the only long-distance transportation option for residents, such as the elderly, who find driving difficult. If bus terminals close down, the surrounding area's transportation environment worsens, leading to a vicious cycle of community decline.

 

As a result, some local governments are purchasing private terminals at their own expense to operate them as public facilities or are promoting terminal complex development projects.

The terminal industry has also begun self-initiated efforts. The plan is to find a way forward by linking nearby KTX train stations and passenger terminals.

The plan is for the terminal to serve as a 'tourism hub' within the region, targeting tourists who visit various festivals and attractions via KTX, tourist trains, and other transportation. This includes installing visitor information and convenience facilities inside the terminal waiting area and operating tourist shuttle buses to support passenger transportation. Additionally, they are considering introducing a demand-responsive service that allows KTX passengers to quickly and conveniently travel from the passenger terminal to their final destination within the region. With the expansion of online commerce, they are also planning to activate the terminal by linking KTX express parcel services with passenger terminals for parcel delivery services.

Kim Jung-hoon, Secretary General of the Terminal Association, said, "Terminals need to continue serving as transportation hubs for the convenience of local residents and for public purposes," and "If terminals are well utilized, they can greatly contribute to revitalizing the local economy and attracting resident populations to local governments."

 

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This is a big problem... If these transportation options disappear like this, ultimately it will be the citizens who suffer inconvenience...

 

It's impossible to maintain a terminal with no users... I hope a good solution comes up...