The assessment analysis of rail transit operation in Seoul metropolitan area

도시권 지하철.전철의 운행평가 분석

This study investigates the one-year performance of the Seoul Metropolitan Rail Transit(SMRT) operation. It intends to provide a basic understanding for railway operation in Seoul Metropolitan Area and thereby for making rational transport policy. The paper is conceptually comprised of four sections; analysis of passenger travel characteristics; SMRT costing and traffic cost function: its operating characteristics in terms of finance and utilization; primary social benefits of SMRT and suggestions. In the first year of operation (1974), the average daily traffic was about 335,000, After the drastic increases of fare in both Subway and KNR rail-lines, the travel volume has been cut by almost 10 percent, though most pronounced on intra-Subway line. The spatial distribution of passengers indicates that travelers use the SMRT line mainly for uninterrupted direct travel toward the CBD. In the prospective costing, the opereting expenses are divided into three groups; those which vary directly with volume; those partially variable with volume; and those entirely unrelated to volume change, With this information, cost function was derived for varying schedules of operation. Primary social benefits of the SMRT are assessed, though preliminary. Account should be taken of the nature of common costs of the SMRT in fare-rate making, especially when much of the operating expenses are accounted for by the fixed costs such that the revenue may not readily turn into break-even. The accounting results of the one-year operation coincide reasonably well with the prospective costing estimates. According to the findings of this annd another travelers' behavior studies, managerial effort would bring more revenue gain to the SMRT than fare increase does, not to speak of greater social benefits by so doing.