Bus drivers nationwide will abandon their vehicles from Thursday in protest against a bill that redefines taxis as a mode of mass transit and offers them compensation for losses.
The bill, which unanimously passed through the parliamentary committee on land, transport and maritime affairs last week, was also approved on Wednesday by the parliamentary Legislation and Judiciary Committee, paving the way for being finally dealt with during the plenary session scheduled for Friday.
Expressing immediate opposition to the move, the association of the country's 17 bus operators vowed to stop operating vehicles on Thursday in an attempt to block the passage of the bill.
If the bill passes a floor vote on Friday, they vowed to go on an indefinite strike.
A total of 48,000 buses nationwide, including 4,000 village shuttle buses, will join the move, with some 7,500 buses running on more than 360 routes in Seoul alone carrying approximately 5 million passengers every day.
Tourist buses and express buses, however, will not go on strike, according to the association.
"We are outraged by the political circle decision to ignore the government, the public and the bus drivers and solely push for the bill ahead of the presidential election. It is nothing but an impromptu populist measure," an official of the bus association said.
"As determined before, we will halt operations from the first bus of the day tomorrow."
The bill, if adopted, will put cab companies and drivers under semi-state management, which means the government determines taxi drivers' salaries and other operational details. In lieu, the drivers will be guaranteed a stable income and the companies will be eligible for government compensation for losses, all of which would come from state coffers.
The bus industry receives an annual 1.2 trillion won ($1.1billion) in various subsidies from central and local governments, and cab firms 760 billion won.
Amid the looming bus strike, the government said it is striving to come up with measures to minimize the impact on commuters, such as preparing extra taxis and subway services and extending their operation for an hour.
It is also mulling whether to ask public officials and students to come to work or school one hour later on Thursday.
Aside from efforts to brace for the strike, the government has been actively trying to persuade lawmakers not to pass the bill, claiming it needs more time to deal with the issue as the government has not secured any budget for the move.
"According to law, taxis are not in the category of public transportation," a senior official of the Prime Minister's Office said. "The bill will have a negative impact on the government's financial health. The parliament also failed to have a discussion on the matter." (Yonhap News)
