Outbound travel for this year's Chuseok holiday will be spread over three days, from the day before the holiday through Chuseok itself, while return traffic is expected to peak on Sept. 25, the day of the holiday.
TMAP Mobility and SK Telecom (017670) Newsroom said on the 17th that they had analyzed past TMAP holiday travel data to project expected travel times by date and time of day for vehicles moving between Seoul and major destinations including Gwangju, Busan, Daejeon and Gangneung. This year's Chuseok holiday runs four days, from the 24th through the 27th.
Peak congestion on outbound routes varies by destination. Vehicles heading from Seoul to Daejeon face the worst delays on the 23rd, the day before the holiday, with a 3 p.m. departure taking 4 hours and 5 minutes. On the 24th, congestion is expected to be heaviest toward Gwangju and Gangneung. Leaving Seoul at 11 a.m., drivers are projected to need 4 hours and 59 minutes to reach Gwangju and 3 hours and 49 minutes to reach Gangneung.
Routes toward Busan are expected to see the heaviest congestion on the 25th, the day of Chuseok. A departure from Seoul at noon is projected to take 7 hours and 3 minutes to reach Busan, roughly two hours longer than usual.
Drivers looking to avoid outbound congestion would do better to travel between late night on the 23rd and the early hours of the 24th. Traffic flow on major routes is also expected to remain near normal levels after 7 p.m. on the 24th and after 5 p.m. on the 25th.
Return traffic is expected to concentrate on the 25th. Roads will begin filling up from 8 a.m., with congestion peaking around noon and delays continuing into the night. Based on a noon departure on the 25th, the drive from Busan to Seoul is projected to take eight hours, from Gwangju 6 hours and 23 minutes, and from Daejeon 4 hours and 20 minutes. From Gangneung to Seoul, a 1 p.m. departure is projected to take 3 hours and 54 minutes. The Busan-Seoul stretch in particular will run about 2 hours and 30 minutes longer than usual, the longest travel time among major routes.
Vehicles heading from Seoul to provincial areas on Chuseok day are also expected to face significant delays. Based on a noon departure, Seoul to Busan is projected at 7 hours and 3 minutes, Seoul to Gwangju at 4 hours and 35 minutes, and Seoul to Daejeon at 3 hours and 30 minutes.
Return congestion eases somewhat from the 26th. Expected travel times on each route are projected to be one to two hours shorter than during the peak congestion window on the 25th. On the 27th, the final day of the holiday, traffic is expected to return to normal levels on most routes, apart from some sections of the Busan-Seoul corridor.
TMAP Mobility is providing traffic and rest-stop information to make travel easier for drivers during the holiday. When a vehicle pulls into an expressway rest area, a facility map, or mini-map, appears automatically on the TMAP screen, showing the locations of gas stations, restrooms and nursing rooms as well as a recommended route from entrance to exit. The service also provides information on signature and popular menu items at each rest stop. It is currently available at 100 rest areas, including those in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and the Gangwon region, with coverage to be expanded in phases.
The company is also offering rest and charging information for long-distance drivers. The service tells drivers the name of and remaining distance to the nearest drowsy-driving rest stop ahead, and provides real-time counts of available fast and slow electric-vehicle chargers at each rest stop. The information is available not only on the TMAP app but also through Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
TMAP Mobility is also reflecting expressway toll exemptions during the holiday and information on newly opened roads, while providing guidance on bus-only lane sections and temporary shoulder-driving permissions. It also plans to offer improved images of complex intersections.
