Public Service Train Marks One Year of Service
(Published November 28, 2011)

56,000 cases handled, user satisfaction of 88%
“An optimal policy for communicating with citizens on a low budget”

– Gyeonggi Province’s ‘365 Public Service Train,’ the first mobile public service center in Korea, celebrated its 1^st anniversary on November 29^th. The Public Service Train handled a total of 56,743 cases during its 1^st year including 36,633 counseling cases and 20,110 convenience cases. (G-News Plus)

The 365 Public Service Train is the first mobile public service center through which the representatives provide services on a running train. November 29^th marked the first anniversary of its launch.

During its first year, the Public Service Train handled 56,743 cases for the public, including 36,633 counseling cases and 20,110 convenience cases.

In the counseling category, health counseling was the most frequently used service with 19,012 cases. Life counseling and job counseling followed with 5,341 and 3,950 cases, respectively. Among convenience services, most clients used the agricultural sales service with 13,073 cases; this was followed by safety calls with 2,475 cases.

The greatest accomplishments were seen in employment support; 3,950 subway users received employment counseling, and 180 people succeeded in finding employment in simple labor, cleaning, patrol, office management, professional fields, and other areas. Citizens thirsted for employment, and the Public Service Train quenched their thirst.

Health counseling was the most frequently utilized convenience service. Shim Eui-il of Jangan-gu, Suwon City, said, “I carry the health handbook that the Public Service Train issued to me and get on the Public Service Train everyday at 10:51 from Hwaseo Station.” He proceeded to express his satisfaction, saying, “They care for my health. The train reaches Anyang Station in no time when I talk about different concerns with the workers.”

Currently, different professionals serve on the Public Service Train on different days of the week to provide free counseling in their specialties, with a certified labor attorney available on Monday, a tax accountant on Thursday, oriental doctor on Saturday, and a medical specialist on Sunday.

The biggest change for the Public Service Train during its first year was the fixed operation time policy enacted on October 5^th. Irregular operation times at different stations caused user inconvenience and difficulties in compiling the user guide. Now, the public service station operates four times every day, departing Byeongjeom Station everyday at 6:44, 10:40, 14:31, and 18:33 for Seongbuk Station. After the enactment of the fixed operation time policy, people even wait in line for the subway.

– Employment support was the subject of greatest interest on the Public Service Train. 3,950 people used the subway for employment counseling, and 180 people found employment in simple labor, cleaning, patrol, office management, professional fields, and other areas. The public service train offered what the citizens wanted the most. (G-News Plus)

The Public Service Train has run continuously from Seodongtan Station to Seongbuk Station during the past year. Users gave high satisfaction ratings when evaluating the service. A survey conducted by Gyeonggi Province of 268 users of the Public Service Train from October 20^th to November 15^th revealed that 235 people, 88% of the respondents, were generally satisfied with the service.

236 people, 88.1% of the total respondents, said they had used the Public Service Train. Among them, 97% would use the service again, and 99% would recommend the Public Service Train to their friends.

Most popular among the counseling services was health counseling with 33% of the respondents having used the service. Life service and welfare counseling followed in frequency of use. In addition, the results show that people frequently utilized convenience services that they could use quickly during the subway operation time including laptop and IT equipment charging (15%) and cell phone charging (11%) services.

There is also a room for improvement. The subway has been under criticism for high-costs and low-efficiency. Public Service Train Team 3 Manager Won Chun-hui said, “The administrative paradigm is shifting to a visiting service.” The Public Service Train is the optimal way to communicate with citizens on a low budget.” He stressed, “Simple computation might lead one to say that the Public Service Train is a high-cost and low-efficiency initiative. But this is not the right way to look at the true meaning of the subway service.”

The Public Service Train plans to present new counseling services starting in 2012. New counseling areas will be added for the younger generations including counseling for military service, resume writing, and interview techniques. Currently, an automatic public service dispenser is available to issue eight types of official forms including resident registration and resident registration abstracts. Starting in 2012, two additional types of forms including vehicle registration and agricultural support documents will be added. The province is also considering incorporating a service in which public service documents and certificates are processed through by fax.

– G-News Plus News | Nam Gyeong-u echo2008@kg21.net

http://gnews.gg.go.kr/news/news_detail.asp?number=201111281104327055C048&s_code=C048