[Getty Images Bank]
[Getty Images Bank]

A complaint calling for a ban on radio listening by Seoul city bus drivers has been filed with the Seoul Metropolitan Council.

According to the council, a petition was recently submitted asking it to enact an ordinance prohibiting Seoul city bus drivers from playing the radio.

The complainant, identified only by the surname Lee, said bus drivers playing the radio inconveniences every passenger on board. "A Seoul city bus is not the driver's personal car," Lee said. "It is a hardship for passengers to have to listen to whatever radio program a given driver happens to prefer."

Lee added that city buses are a service industry and that radio noise disrupts passengers who want a quiet ride.

Lee also alleged that drivers absorbed in the radio sometimes fail to notice when passengers press the stop button and do not open the rear door. "Some drivers sing along loudly to pop songs," Lee said, "and some curse and drive aggressively when asked to turn the radio off."

The Seoul Metropolitan Government's bus policy division said a blanket ban would be difficult to implement.

"In general, listening to the radio on city buses is not uniformly prohibited under current law, and it is permitted within limits as long as it does not cause inconvenience to passengers," the city said. "It is an activity ordinarily allowed in private vehicles as well, and there is currently no regulation restricting radio listening itself."

The city also expressed reservations about enacting an ordinance. "In the case of a radio prohibition regulation or ordinance as suggested, it would be necessary to comprehensively consider the bus-use environment, public opinion and operating conditions," it said, adding that "careful review is needed at this point before moving toward a uniform prohibition."

Instead, the city said it would ask bus drivers to exercise restraint.

"When radio is broadcast at an excessively loud volume during operation, or when programming that may cause discomfort to passengers is broadcast for an extended period, passenger inconvenience can result," the city said. "We are continuously requesting that transport companies maintain appropriate volume levels and operate with consideration for passengers so that public inconvenience is minimized."

The city added that it would instruct transport companies to continue conducting driver education and on-site management to ensure that passenger safety and service are not compromised during operation.


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