국토교통부, 추석 귀성길에 감소된 2800만 명 이동 예상<br /><br />Thankfully with a significant drop in the daily virus numbers, South Koreans head into the Chuseok holiday - the five-day holiday this year begins tomorrow, but many South Koreans have already begun their holiday travels.<br />Arirang News' Han Seong-woo is live at the Seoul Tollgate, a key avenue for cars leaving the city.<br />Seong-woo, we should normally see traffic building up already, but this year, with the Chuseok holiday hit by the pandemic as well, it's a little different, isn't it?<br />Hi Connyoung , behind me cars are passing through Seoul Tollgate to branch off to different parts of the country via the nation's major highways.<br />Including the coming weekend, the five-day Chuseok holiday begins on Wednesday... but as you can see, there isn't as much congestion as you might expect.<br />The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport predicts almost 27-point-six million people will travel across the nation from Tuesday, until the end of the long holiday on Sunday.<br />That's a 14 percent decrease from last year's figure of nearly 32 million.<br />The journey from Seoul to Busan will still take around six and a half hours though.<br />When the traffic situation worsens tomorrow, it is expected to take over eight hours.<br />As public transport usage is projected to drop due to COVID-19 health concerns, more passenger cars will be out on the roads.<br />According to a Korea Transport Institute survey, just over 90 percent of respondents said they would be traveling in private vehicles.<br />In stark contrast, buses and trains combined accounted for less than eight percent.<br />The transport ministry says congestion will be at its worst Wednesday morning and Saturday afternoon.<br />Extra stringent anti-virus measures must be in place for those who have decided to hit the highways for the holiday this year. I know that there will be no dine-ins at rest stops along the expressway, but what else do we need to be aware of?<br />Well... the biggest one has to be regarding highway toll fees. Usually toll charges are waived during the holidays but these will remain valid from Wednesday until Friday.<br />But another huge difference can be found at highway rest stops, where under normal circumstances, families would park up and relax while eating at small restaurants.<br />COVID-19's changed all that.<br />Until Sunday, drivers cannot sit and eat indoors at these resting spots.<br />So only take-out is allowed.<br />Mask-wearing isn't mandatory inside cars when traveling with close family, but if there's someone else in the vehicle, masks must be worn.<br />It's also recommended to ventilate your car once every hour.<br />That's all I have for now, Connyoung.<br />
