By Yoon Sojung, Xu Aiying, Min Yea-Ji
Photos = Jeon Han
April 13, 2017 | Seoul

“It's impressive to see the accuracy and punctuality of public transportation and the arrival interval of buses and trains in Seoul. Sao Paulo could learn a lot from Seoul.”

So said Marcelo Torres, a reporter from SBT, a Brazilian broadcaster, during his visit to the Traffic Operation Information Service (TOPIS), part of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, on April 13.

“This system is very convenient, as it allows anyone to check public transportation information in real time,” said Torres. He also highlighted Koreans’ passion for education. His report was aired nationally on SBT’s prime time news show SBT Brasil on April 13 at 8 p.m.




TOPIS is the body that supervises roads, congestion and transportation in the greater Seoul metropolitan region.

Citizens love it, as it's convenient and provides real time public transport and road information. As such, government officials from around the globe flock to visit the center.

Yang YounGye from Seoul’s Transportation Information Center said, “We've been receiving high-profile international figures since 2004. On average, more than 3,000 high-ranking officials visit us every year.”

“We've had heads of state, ministers and vice ministers from almost all the countries, from A to Z,” he said.

The SBT crew’s visit to TOPIS was made on the occasion of Sao Paulo Mayor Joao Doria's visit to Seoul.

Mayor Doria headed to TOPIS headquarters as a way to improve public transportation in Sao Paulo, by using Seoul as a model. During his visit to TOPIS, he asked many questions about topics ranging from real time information about bus location, backed by wireless communications technology, to Korea’s IT-based transport card system and about real time road condition recording technology.



Backed by Korea’s intelligent transport system (ITS), TOPIS was established by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Since the 1990s, Korea has been developing an IT-based, smart public transportation system in order to effectively manage traffic congestion, traffic incidents and air pollution, most of which are created in densely populated large cities and cased by the growing number of automobiles.

The system automated the overall transportation management system. It manages public transport vehicles and equipment in real time, and collects and makes use of related traffic data. Thanks to its highly developed technology, the system can collect information from sensors installed on roads and provide collected information to enhance traffic operation, backed by wireless communications technology.

Thanks to the ITS, Seoul residents can check the public transportation situation on their smartphones, helping them to not waste time waiting for a bus or subway. As information about traffic conditions is reflected in real time, the system helps drivers avoid congestion hotspots and possible accidents by recommending alternative routes.

Korea’s ITS won the ITS World Congress Hall of Fame award in Detroit in 2014.

TOPIS, in particular, was awarded the PTx2 Showcase Award at the 59th UIPT Congress (International Association of Public Transport) in Dubai in 2011. It also won the Local Government Award at the ITS World Congress in Tokyo in 2013.

Having won world recognition, TOPIS has now been exported to 15 cities, including Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, Auckland in New Zealand and Bogota in Colombia, as of April 2017.





arete@korea.kr