▲ Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon (C) inspects the operations of free shuttle buses in western Seoul on Jan. 14, 2026, in this photo provided by his office, as the strike by the city's unionized intracity bus workers entered its second day. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Seoul bus-strike

Seoul expands alternative transport services as bus strike enters 2nd day

SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) -- The longest-ever strike by Seoul's intracity bus workers entered its second day Wednesday, prompting the city government to implement emergency transportation measures, including increasing subway and chartered bus services.

The unionized bus workers in the capital launched their first strike in two years Tuesday after wage talks with the management broke down.

As of early Wednesday morning, only 562, or 8 percent, of the city's 7,018 intracity buses were in operation, causing enormous disruption and inconvenience to commuters.

The city government said it increased the number of additional subway services during rush hour from 172 on Tuesday to 203 on Wednesday. The peak commuter train service hours were also expanded by two hours Wednesday, compared with one hour Tuesday.

In addition, the authorities tried to alleviate platform congestion by sending empty trains to heavily congested subway stations during rush hour and increased safety personnel to more than twice the usual level at 86 major stations.

The city government said it mobilized 677 chartered buses on 134 routes throughout the capital Tuesday, serving 86,035 passengers. On Wednesday, 86 additional chartered buses were deployed, bringing the total to 763. The city's village buses are operating normally. Taxi companies were asked to increase their fleet operations.

This is the first strike by unionized bus workers in Seoul in two years since March 2024 and the first time the strike has lasted two days. Labor and management are set to resume their negotiations Wednesday afternoon.

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